A Walk At TWILIGHT to Remember
by Musicmochroidhe
Summary: A twist on the Nicholas Sparks novel we all know and love... Starring our favorite characters from Twilight! Edward Masen is one of the most popular guys at school, but events throw him together with outcast Bella Swan, and of course they fall in love!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: We all know the classic story by Nicolas Sparks of _A Walk To Remember_, or, if not, most of us have at least seen the movie, which in my opinion brings anyone with a heart to tears. However, what happens when our favorite _Twilight_ characters take on the starring roles? This is how I combined the two stories (Note, based off the MOVIE version of A Walk To Remember, not the book. Sorry to all the book fans!) and I really tried to do my best. Some things are from Twilight, and some things are from AWtR, and some things are all my own :) I hope you like it! _Story still in progress, if you have ideas, I'd love to hear them!_**

**Some Quick Notes: Based on the MOVIE of A Walk to Remember. Edward, Alice, Emmett, Rosalie and Jasper form the "IT" crowd at Forks Highschool. Bella is still the daughter of Chief Swan, though not as prudish as Jaime in WTR. Edward is the most moralistic of his sometimes troublesome crowd (are we surprised?). Rosalie has a bit of a crush on Edward, but he's NOT interested. Emmett is though (naturally). Alice and Jasper are dating. Bella is an outcast, and Alice is quick to scorn her choices in fashion. Our story begins on a late night at La Push Beach.**

**Questions, Comments, Love it or Hate it- REVIEW IT!**

**P.S. Me own neither Twilight nor AWtR. If I did, odds are I wouldn't be on fanfiction... but who knows, maybe I would be!**

**P.P.S. If you find and grammar mistakes, let me know ASAP! I'm a stickler for grammar...**

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A Walk at TWILIGHT to Remember

Chapter 1

"Edward? Are you even listening to what I'm saying? Edward!" Alice's high, almost Minnie-Mouse-esque voice brought me back from my reverie as we were speeding down the highway towards La Push.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" I apologized, glancing at my friend's sweet, pixie-like face that was settled in a vexed pout.

"You really shouldn't be drifting off, especially when you're driving!" She scolded.

I laughed. "Please, like I would ever do anything to harm this car. Besides, you _know_ I'm an excellent driver." It was true; my record was pristine, and I would never put a _scratch _on the Volvo, it was my baby.

"Alright then, now that I have your attention, I'll repeat my question. Are you _sure_ you want to go through with this? We could go back to the dance, I'll convince Jasper to go back, no problem, and you can dance with Rosalie if you really don't want to sit out for all the dancing!"

"Ha! Like that'll happen!" I laughed. "Look, I'm sorry if I'm hurting anyone's feelings by saying this, but there is _no way _I'm dancing with Rosalie Hale. Nope. And I as for my reservations on what we're about to do, there are none. Come on, you can't tell me that it doesn't sound like fun!"

"Yeah, sure, sneaking onto the La Push beaches at night is really fun, but _cliff diving?_ Really? It will totally ruin my outfit, and these are really cute clothes! I just got them this week for the dance! Which you boys made me leave early," she said with a begrudging tone.

"Look, it was Jasper's idea, not mine. He wanted to freak out some guys who have been hanging around lately." I kept speeding forward towards the cliffs without any thought of turning back.

It was Saturday night, and my friends and I had ditched the Forks high school dance early to go to the beach at La Push. We didn't go to the beaches often, mainly because the teenagers on the reservation took a particular dislike to us, and did their best to keep us off the tribal lands as much as possible. It was a nice change of pace to break the rules once in a while.

I saw buddy Emmett's Jeep and Rosalie's bright red convertible already parked by the side of the road next to the cliffs. All our friends were already there, waiting for us, lounging against the cars and laughing boisterously. I pulled up next to the two cars and Alice and I both got out.

Alice danced over to my friend, Jasper Whitlock, entwining herself under his arm, looking so happy that you would have never thought she wanted to go back to the school dance. I noticed that Alice's burly and handsome brother Emmett Cullen had his arm wrapped around Rosalie's shoulders as well. Under her golden tresses, her stunningly beautiful face looked just as happy as Alice, if not more so. Hmm, I couldn't see why Rosalie kept bugging me for my attentions when she was clearly content with Emmett's. However, as soon as she saw me, her blue eyes formed a look of guilt and she shrugged out from under Emmett's arm, feigning disgust. Emmett wasn't too happy with this development.

"Hey Edward," She said sweetly, putting on as much of her seductive attitude as she thought was appropriate. "I didn't think you were going to come. I'm so glad you're here."

"Yeah," I said offhandedly, "I'm here." I tried to give the same impression I always gave when Rosalie was around. NOT INTERESTED. Why couldn't she be satisfied with stealing Emmett's heart? He was certainly willing enough.

"Why wouldn't he come?" Jasper laughed. "This is gonna be awesome! I'm so glad I thought of it." Jasper's face was definably masculine, and his eyes were a dark hazel, under his wavy blonde hair, a little longer, and messier, than the average guy-cut, resembling the California-surfer look. At the moment, he wore a wide, excited grin while he waited for the fun to begin. The "fun" would be spooking his two new friends with the threat of cliff diving. The boys were already shaking in their boots.

The additions to our usual party of five were a couple guys Jasper had picked up at the dance to come with us. Mike Newton, and Tyler Crowley. They didn't strike me as the typical guys that would be tempted to go cliff diving at night, or ever. From what I had heard about them from school, Crowley was a nutcase and Newton was a tool. Newton _especially_ got on my nerves because he was such a suck up to almost everyone. I figured that was the only way he could have wormed an invitation to our little jaunt from Jasper. Crowley was just crazy; a reckless driver, and a little delusional. I take it back, these two were perfect for some night time cliff diving.

"Are we ready to get started?" Emmett howled with excitement.

"Oh, come on," Alice whined, "I wanna go back to the dance! Edward, won't you drive me back?"

"You keep this up and I'm making your brother drive you everywhere," I advised.

"Ew!" She made a face at the suggestion. "The Jeep always smells like feet and athletic gear!"

"It smells like a man's car should," Emmett said proudly.

"Fine," Alice sighed, defeated. "Let's just get this over with."

Mike looked a little nervously at the cliffs. "Are you guys sure this is really… safe? I mean, I wouldn't want to get hurt or anything."

"Sure it's safe!" Jasper assured him in a very calming and persuasive voice. "I heard the La Push boys do it all the time!"

Crowley was looking a little nervous too. "We're not even supposed to be out here, though! The Reservation has a group of junior police force kids who round up groups like us who hang out here at night. It's like an unspoken law that we're not allowed after dark."

"You're going let a couple of Quileute kids scare you out of a good time?" Emmett teased him.

Tyler didn't say anything in response, but I guessed that he was thinking the Quileute boys weren't anything to shrug off as easily as Emmett did. Of course, it wasn't easy to intimidate Emmett. He was the biggest and strongest boy at Forks High School.

"Alright," I said, shedding my sweatshirt and heavy jeans. "Looks like I'm jumping first. Who's coming with me? You ready to go, Newton?" In all honesty, I didn't think of going off the top cliff. There was a lower one just down a path that was off to my right, and that cliff looked a lot safer to me. At least during the night. In daylight I might try the top cliff, but right now…

"Yeah, okay," Mike stuttered, still struck with nerves, but eager to prove his worth to the Jasper. He toppled left and right while clumsily removing his own over clothes, and heading towards the edge of the high cliff.

"Are you crazy?" I heard a girl scream from down the road.

I was suddenly aware that two new people were approaching our group. They had been walking on the beach, and saw us gathered at the top of the cliffs. One was very tall, obviously one of the boys from the reservation, and the other a short, slim girl with wavy brown hair. Seeing Mike near the edge of the cliff in his shorts and hearing my suggestion that we jump had alerted her of our intended plans for recreation and she was racing over to us, though tripping over her own feet in her attempt to run.

As soon as she was closer, I was able to recognize from the light of the moon that she was Bella Swan, the police chief's daughter. I had seen Bella before at school, but she wasn't someone I typically talked to. She was an outcast, and we were the "IT" crowd. It was one of those silly high school social divisions, but that's how things were. More than once Alice had openly mocked Bella for her lack of fashion sense, and Rosalie didn't even deign to recognize her.

"Are you guys serious right now?" Bella exclaimed. "Cliff diving? At night? You people are truly idiots!"

Both Jasper and Emmett looked a little unsettled by her intrusion on our party. Emmett was gripping his keys, ready to make a dash if necessary.

"Well, hello Isabella," Alice said in a sweet and formal, but clearly mocking tone. "What brings you out here on a fine night like tonight? Why aren't you at the dance? Didn't have a date?"

Bella blushed, but didn't answer. Instead she looked over her shoulder at the man who was behind her.

Her companion caught up quickly, and observing the scene, he let out a low whistle. "Oh no, you guys are _definitely_ not supposed to be here. These beaches are out of bounds after seven. Get your stuff together, and get home."

"Says who?" Emmett barked, though he was still tense and ready to go.

Normally, we didn't strike up rebellion against authority, no matter what kind of schemes we got ourselves into. We were "good kids." It was this reputation that kept us out at night, instead of grounded or inhibited with curfews. However, in this case, the person who was barking orders was just a kid. He may be tall, and certainly muscular, but he couldn't be any older than myself. In fact, if I took the boyishness that was still present in his cheeks, he was younger. Bella Swan certainly didn't seem to react like he was any kind of authority. She looked almost protective of him, even though he was easily twice her size.

The other thing that roused our resentment was the fact that this was a La Push kid, and we didn't get along with La Push kids.

"What's your name?" Jasper asked roughly.

"Jacob Black," the boy answered in a cold tone.

"Well, _Jacob_, what business do you think you have telling us what we can and can't do? I don't see anyone but you who's going to stop us."

"Right," Jacob laughed sarcastically. "I'm the only one here now, but in about five minutes I'll have the whole La Push Junior Police Force here to kick your butts back to Forks." He had a cell phone out and was dialing something quickly.

"Whoa now," Mike said hesitantly. "You're not really calling them, are you? Come on! Be a sport!"

Bella swerved around at the familiar voice. "Mike? Is that you? What are you doing here? Don't tell me you're actually partaking in this ridiculousness!"

I could tell by the way Mike looked at Bella he saw something in her wavy brown locks and somewhat shoddy fashion sense. However, he tried to mask this affection in present company. He kept throwing nervous glances at Jasper and Alice who were still reclining on the hood of Rosalie's car.

"So what if I am?" Mike barked, putting on a tough appearance. "We're just trying to have a little fun, and you guys have to come and ruin it!"

"Dude, I'm saving your life, trust me" Jacob chortled, ear still pressed to his cell phone. "There's no way you'd be able to beat the tides at the bottom, I mean, look at you..." He laughed at Mike's obvious lack of muscles, made more defined in when he was just in his shorts.

Bella turned to Jacob sharply and made a silencing motion, clearly trying to avoid as much tension as possible between the two parties.

Rather than being grateful for this act of compassion, Mike took Bella's concern as an insult.

"Hey! I don't need you to fight for me! I am certainly tough enough to jump! Just watch me!"

"Mike," Bella said condescendingly, 'We both know you're not actually going to jump off that cliff."

"Yes I am!" Mike retorted with false bravery.

Bella turned to face him head on, her hands on her hips. "I would like to see you try, Mike Newton. You're not going to jump off that cliff."

"Yes I am!" He repeated, apparently unable to stir up anything else to say in his state of utter terror. Jasper and Emmett were loving the scene before them.

"Go on," Bella said. "I dare you." Her expression told us that she didn't believe Mike capable of doing anything so stupid.

What an idiot. Before any of us could stop him, Newton was hurling himself over the edge of the cliff. What had been meant as an easy-going night was suddenly a disaster.

"Oh my God!" Alice screamed, just as Bella yelled, "No! Mike! You idiot!"

Jasper was swearing like a sailor as everyone rushed to the edge of the cliff to see what had happened to Newton, and Emmett hollered, "Hey! Black! Get off the damn phone and call 911! Who knows what's happened to him!"

"Edward!" I heard out of the tumult of calls and cries. It was Alice's delicate voice, frantically yelling at me. "Edward! You have to go in and get him! I don't think he'll come back up on his own!"

"Help him Edward, I don't think he's moving!" Rosalie cried out in hysteria.

Damn it. I refrained from swearing out loud, but raced down the path to the lower cliffs. The sea wasn't terribly turbulent that evening, and I could see fairly well by the light of the moon. I could see Newton floundering in the waves, being tossed in the water up against the rocks. Suddenly, a larger wave hit him and he collided with one of the bigger rocks.

Even at the top of the cliffs I could hear the crack of bone against rock.

I took a running leap and glided through the air, making a perfect entrance into the water. I was a good swimmer, and was able to resurface in seconds. I swam over to where Mike was crushed against the rocks, whimpering like a baby and crying for my help.

Oh man, how did I get myself into this?

Pulling Newton with me as I swam back to the shore, I saw my friends dash to their cars and pull out onto the highway at illegal speeds, and seconds later the flashing red and blue lights of several cruisers drove into view. Of course, fleeing the scene. Great.

I pulled Mike onto the sandy shore, both of us gasping for air, him still whimpering, and me checking to see he didn't have any massive cuts.

"Oh my god! Is he okay?" I heard a girl screaming as she raced out onto the beach where Newton and I were both splayed out on the sand. It was Bella Swan again, followed by Jacob Black, and what looked like a large contingent of the La Push Junior Police Force. About six tall, sturdy teenagers were gathering around us.

"Oh, you're going get it this time, Mason," the oldest one, Sam Uley, whom I recognized, stated in an almost gleeful voice. "The cops are on their way."

"Are you serious?" I wheezed in my rage. "What did I do? Really? It was _her_ that made him jump off the cliff!"

"I didn't think he was stupid enough to do it!" Bella retorted defensively. "He's usually really sensible! I work with him-"

"Yeah, well, tell that to your dad when he gets here."

Bella's face went pale white with fear.

"No, Jacob, you didn't call my dad, did you?" Bella said in a trembling voice. Jacob didn't answer, but he bit his lip and avoided Bella's gaze. "Jake! He's gonna kill me when he finds out I'm here!"

I could barely pay attention with the sirens and lights. Sensory overload… and now this twit was wailing in my ear about her dad being upset. Meanwhile, a group of very unfriendly looking boys were shooting me death glares that almost guaranteed I would be arrested.

"Ok, this party has been fun, but I'm out of here," I leapt up off the sand and took off at my top speed. Thank goodness I ran track-

I heard the boys hollering after me, and even some trying to catch up, not that any of them did. I would have gotten away too, if I hadn't turned the corner and ran smack into none other than Chief Swan himself.

I collided with the Chief and fell backwards on the sand, and several of the Quileute boys caught up with us, as did Bella.

"Edward Masen," Chief Swan stated in a scornful tone. "I _shouldn't_ be finding you here, but I can't say I'm terribly surprised." What the hell was _that_ supposed to mean? Yeah, my friends and I had done a few dirty deeds in our past, but we'd never gotten _caught. _Had he really suspected us all along?

"Sir," I heard Jacob Black saying in a rushed and worried tone, "Another boy jumped off the cliffs. We pulled him out, but I think he's hurt. We heard a crack at the top of the cliffs-"

"Right," the chief answered in a serious voice. "An ambulance is on the way. Do you know who he is?" None of the boys said anything. "Well? Do you?"

"It's Mike Newton," a timid voice replied. I saw Bella step out from behind the contingent of teenage boys, looking very sheepish under her father's furious glare.

Chief Swan looked like he was choking when he saw his own daughter at the scene of a crime.

"Breathe, Sir," I advised from my position on the ground.

"BELLA!" He hollered with unrivaled fury. "What on EARTH are you doing here?"

"Well," She began, "It's kind of a funny story-"

"Bella," he scolded, "Please, just tell me that you didn't have anything to do with that boy jumping off the cliff.

Bella's eyes were alight with fear, like a deer in the headlights. A very, very innocent deer…

"No sir, she didn't have anything to do with it. It was all me. I goaded him into jumping." I could hardly believe the words were coming out of my own mouth.

"Right," Chief Swan said gruffly, anger billowing out from every orifice. "Both of you are coming with me. To the station."

He yanked me up off the ground and started pulling me toward his cruiser by the back of my wet T-shirt. Bella was following in our wake, looking as dejected as possible.

Just before we reached the road, yet another exciting event caught our attention. It was another cop car with lights flashing and sirens wailing chasing after one of the cars that had fled the cliffs. It looked a lot like…

Oh shit. It was my Volvo. And Tyler Crowley was driving.

My eyes were wide with fury and disbelief as I watched my Volvo, my baby, crash into the fence of road-siding around the sharp corner he had taken. Tyler had probably broken his leg, but I didn't care. My car was totaled.

This night couldn't get any better, could it?

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**Please review! I will never get this story finished if I don't get lots of reviews urging me to do so! (senioritis has started to infect the creative workings of my brain, making me a lazy potato who only wants to watch movies all the time instead of writing on my many stories like a good doobie. THIS IS BAD! Help me out, review!)**

**P.S. I editted and reposted this, but if you find any more grammar things, be sure to let me know!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Alright, I editted this already, but if you catch ANY grammar things, let me know ASAP! I will repeat again, for those of you who missed it the first time around, this is based off the MOVIE of A Walk to Remember, NOT THE BOOK. This chapter is actually a bunch of scenes from teh movie, and some of my own creations, so it's pretty crazy. YAY! Let me know what you guys think via wonderful reviews! Thanks!**

**Questions, Comments, Love it or Hate it, you gotta REVIEW it!**

**Chapter 2**

Somewhere between the cop-car ride back to Forks and being wedged in said cop-car with the biggest loser at Forks High School, Bella Swan, I decided that my friends had seriously screwed me over. No, really, what did I do to deserve this? Every single one of them should be sitting in this jail cell with me right now, not back at the dance pretending like nothing happened.

Ok, maybe I had gone a little far by actually suggesting we jump, but it's not like any of us hadn't done it before. Everyone of us had snuck over to the cliffs to jump at least once in our lives. It would just figure that Newton would nearly drown when he decided to try it.

I could hear Chief Swan chewing out Bella for being out at La Push so late, and especially for being with _my crowd_. Wow, I really didn't think that we were thought of as such bad kids. I guess I was wrong…

I had already told them that it was my fault Mike jumped and got hurt, so Bella wasn't in any more trouble than what she had to deal out with her father. Why I said it was me, I still didn't know. Maybe it was some kind of underlying guilt? I doubt it, I'm the one who pulled the kid out of the water. Shouldn't I get some credit for that at least?

"Alright Masen, here's the deal," Chief Swan huffed as he came over and unlocked my cell. "It sounds like Newton's going to be fine. He has a couple broken bones, but they've got him fixed up at the hospital. He's not going to press charges. Since you were at least conscientious enough to help him out, we're going to give you a break."

_Yes, _I thought. _Sweet success._

"We won't be putting any of this on your record, but your principal, Mr. Greene, has already informed me that he'll be speaking with you tomorrow and arranging his own form of punishment. For both of you."

I blinked in confusion. I heard Bella groan.

"Oh, come on, dad. You aren't really going to-"

"Yes, I do mean you too. You were at La Push after visiting hours, just like Edward. You will also pay the consequences."

"But I was with Jake, he _invited _me-"

"You know my rules, Bella. That's enough." She said no more on the subject but sat and pouted at Charlie's desk.

"Now, Mr. Masen," the chief said, turning to me once again. "All that's left I suppose is to call your mother." Oh joy, rapture. Esme will be _thrilled_.

My worried and hurried mother arrived minutes later, concern clouding around her. "Edward? Oh thank goodness! You're not hurt. You aren't hurt, are you? I was so worried when you didn't come home, and then I saw your car getting towed-"

Both Chief Swan and I made and effort to calm my mother. Charlie took the liberty of telling Esme all about the incident at the beach. There went all worry and concern. Now she was just mad. My mother didn't hesitate to drag me out of the police station by my ear.

"Mom! Can you take it easy? You know my car got totaled, it hasn't exactly been a great night-"

"I could care less about your car Edward Masen. As far as I'm concerned, you got exactly what was coming to you, putting a nice boy like Mike Newton in such danger, and trespassing on the reservation! We will talk about this in the morning."

I groaned. At least I wasn't going home with the police officer.

Bella was still slumped on her dad's desk when I left, growing misery on her face, but mainly anger. She was angry at me. I suppose I didn't blame her.

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I walked into the kitchen next morning. Esme didn't make me breakfast like she usually did, but I wasn't surprised. This was her way of punishing me. That was fine, I could settle with cereal just fine.

"Tyler Crowley is in the hospital. He has a broken leg," She informed me while I maneuvered my way through the kitchen and around her.

"That's great," I said sarcastically. "I hope he's doing well." I didn't really. He killed my car! I only wished that _I _had been the one to break his leg. Or arm, or jaw… I wasn't picky.

"I think you should go visit him," Esme cajoled.

"Hmmm… I don't think so." I didn't try to hide my distaste with the idea. Yes, I was being rude to my mother. Oh well.

Her calm expression turned more concerned. "Maybe I should call your father."

"No," I snapped. "You know I'm not talking to him." Ever since my father left seven years ago without any form of explanation, I refused to communicate with him at all. He abandoned his family, and that did _not_ fly well with me. Even when he moved back into town and started working at the hospital, I didn't visit him or talk to him. I didn't want anything to do with him

"Edward, this rift between the two of you has to stop! You _need _a father. Carlisle is a good man-"

"He left us, Mom."

"He had his reasons," She said sadly, reflecting on something in her past.

"Yeah, well, he never thought to share those reasons with me," I spat bitterly.

"You don't let him, do you?"

I slammed the box of cereal down on the table and stalked out of the kitchen.

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Monday morning. It's raining, per usual for Forks, Washington. I meet my friends outside the cafeteria. Everyone's laughing, having a good time, like nothing happened Saturday night. Sure, for them, nothing did happen.

"I can't believe you were in jail," Alice marveled.

"It wasn't really jail," Jasper laughed. "It's just that cell they have at the police station. Edward wouldn't last one night in a real jail, pretty boy like him." He scuffed up my hair and laughed menacingly.

"Hey, I don't see you boasting any battle scars," Emmett said, taking my side. "Besides, Eddy had to deal with his mom, and even I wouldn't want to put a toe past Mrs. Masen. She's scary when she's mad! How do you still have all four limbs after a ripping from Esme, my brother?"

"Aw, Esme's bark is worse than her bite. I just explained that it was all an accident, that I did my best to help out in a bad situation and got in trouble for it." I tried to play off like I hadn't gotten into a silence war with my mother that lasted more than a day. I suppose she, like Charlie Swan, was also counting on Mr. Greene, my principal, to come up with come appropriate form of punishment.

"You mean she didn't kill you for trespassing on the reservation?" Rosalie asked.

"Nope," I lied.

"I gotta hand it to you," Emmett spoke with adoration, "When it comes to dazzling your way out of a mess, you, Edward Masen, are the pro." He pounded me on the back in a brotherly way.

"Hey, here comes Bella Swan," Alice noted. "She sure has style," she said sarcastically. Bella was wearing grungy jeans and an ugly, green turtleneck sweater. I could tell Bella hated the rain based on the grimace that was on her face as she wiped the water out of her messy brown hair.

"Oh my God," Rosalie said with disgust. "I haven't worn anything like that… ever." The boys were repressing laughs behind me.

As Bella walked by us, Rosalie said with false sweetness, "Nice sweater."

Bella paused, blushing profusely, but didn't say anything. She suddenly hurried away, scattering drops of rain behind her.

Everyone burst out laughing, except me. My eyes followed Bella as she hurried down the hall, just in time to catch her looking back at me with a wary, yet scornful glance. The fact that I wasn't laughing definitely caught her attention.

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Not an hour later, I found myself sitting in the waiting room for the principal's office, as promised. Also as I had expected, Bella Swan was sitting next to me, looking slightly nauseous, truth be told. Neither one of us was anticipating the meeting with Mr. Greene, but at least I had an idea of what to expect. Bella probably had never been in trouble in her life. She didn't _do _anything as far as I knew; She wasn't on any sports teams, and I had never seen her at any of the parties around town. In fact, the night at La Push was the first time I had ever seen her outside of school.

Yes, I was almost certain she was shaking. Something kept me from talking to her to calm her down. What could it be? Hmm, I don't know, maybe the fact that I wouldn't _be_ here if it wasn't for her?

"You two may go in now," the secretary, Ms. Cope, told us. I could hear Bella audibly gulp. I tried not to laugh.

Mr. Greene sat behind his large mahogany desk, hands balanced in the air in front of him, the tips of his fingers bouncing together like an evil genius. He was taking this "punishment" thing too seriously, if you asked me.

"So, Chief Swan has informed me that the two of you have been, shall we say, little lawbreakers this weekend."

Bella nearly hopped out of her seat she was so eager to say something. "Mr. Greene, really, I wasn't breaking any laws, my dad is just a little harsh-"

"That's enough Miss Swan," Mr. Greene silenced her. He didn't like his monologues to be interrupted. I rolled my eyes.

The fearful look returned to Bella's face, so I leaned over and whispered so quietly no one but Bella would hear me say anything, "Just let him rant. He's not going to do anything too terrible, he's pretty easy-going when it comes to cases like us."

She seemed to relax a little, but was still very tense. Mr. Greene was still talking.

"-Tyler Crowley is in the hospital with a broken leg, and Mike Newton has several broken limbs. Lucky for you two, Newton isn't talking about the accident with the cliff-"

I snorted. Of course Newton wouldn't say anything. By now he had probably realized just how big an idiot he had been. Mr. Greene glared at me.

"This is not funny, Mr. Masen. I'm going to make sure that you learn something from this experience."

Yeah, I'd already learned never to leave my keys in the ignition when Crowley was around and never think that Mike Newton is smarter than he looks.

"You need to try new things at this school, Edward. Start spending time with different friends. You will aid the janitorial staff on the weekends-"

"Mr. Greene, are you seri-"

"Yes. In addition, you will help the school tutor kids on Saturdays, and you will participate in our Drama Club's final performance."

"The spring _play_?" I repeated in disbelief. Mr. Greene just glared at me until I hung my head in defeat.

He turned to Bella. "You, Miss Swan, need to get out more, do more activities and make new friends at our school. That way you won't be tempted to run off to La Push all the time. So you will be joining Edward in his new list of extra-curriculars." Bella visibly paled at this prospect.

"But Mr. Greene-"

"That's enough Miss Swan. Both of you may leave." Both of us exited the office, me wrangling my head at the thought of giving up every second of my free time for something I didn't freaking _do_, and Bella with her mouth still wide in shock.

I wanted to swear, but I wouldn't do so in front of a lady. Bella, however, didn't hesitate.

"Damn it!" She gasped, then immediately flinched at the harsh look Ms. Cope shot her. "I mean, really? Why would he do that? Why would my _dad_ do this to me? We'll see if he gets any good meals this week-"

"Is that seriously all you're concerned about?" I asked incredulously.

She looked at me with her wide, chocolate brown eyes of confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, don't you feel at least a little guilty? I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you!"

She turned on me with resent. "Oh no, you are not blaming this on me. _I _wouldn't be here if you and your _friends-_" She said friends with whatever venom she could muster, "-hadn't been hanging out at La Push in the first place!"

"We were fine until you showed up." I couldn't tell her that I was mad at my friends as well, I was too angry at this simple girl who had ruined the rest of my junior year.

"Oh right, everything is _my_ fault!" She spat sarcastically. "I don't suppose you'd tell me what you were doing at the cliffs in the first place, if you didn't intend on pushing Mike Newton over yourself?"

"Nope. I don't plan on telling you anything, as a matter of fact." I turned to storm off down the hallway, but her pleading voice caught me.

"Please! We already have to spend the rest of the spring together, let's not start on bad terms!"

I turned, and glared at her. "You want to try and be friends?"

"Yes, I do." She looked so small and helpless in that moment, but my anger got the better of me.

"In that case… I hope you enjoy disappointment." I turned down the hall and didn't look back.

**Hehehe, I loved using that last line! Let me know your thoughts, remember this is still a work in progress, so your reviews are the only thing that will motivate me to finish! PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: So I'm really excited about this chapter, my absolute favorite scene from AWtR is in it, Twilightized. Let me know which one you think it is! I really need to write some more before I put up more chapters, otherwise I'm going to get stuck with nothing to post! (Oh no!). Review and I'll write more... hint hint. Okay, hope you like this next chapter!**

**Chapter 3**

Monday afternoon, my first day of "just punishment." Instead of practicing my piano, or taking a hike with Emmett, I was stuck at the school after hours, cleaning the hallways with Bella Swan.

She didn't look too enthused either, if the constant slur of profanities and groans issuing from her mouth were anything to judge by. She was positively fuming.

After about five minutes of the same routine, I sighed and leaned against my mop. "Look, is this going to be a habit or something? 'Cause it's getting old pretty fast."

She stopped mopping in a huff. "You can't tell me that you're _happy_ to be stuck doing this?"

"Of course not! I'm simply marveling that _you_ are so offended by being detained. It's not like you have anywhere else to be." I almost laughed as the mockingly fierce look of resentment formed on her face.

"That's pretty presumptuous, assuming that I don't have a life. Just because I don't spend every second with Rosalie Hale or Jasper Whitlock-" She didn't try to hide her contempt when she mentioned my friends by name, "-Doesn't mean I don't have quality ways to occupy my time! And to be frank, I'm tired of you, and Mr. Greene, and anyone else thinking that I don't have better things to do during the day!"

Her anger threw me off guard. "Sorry… so what plans _do _you have?" I made every effort to conceal the amusement in my voice.

"Well, I was _supposed_ to work today, but obviously that went out the window. Mrs. Newton will be _furious_ with me-"

"Newton? You work at Newton's store? What do you see in that tool anyway?"

"Nothing!" she barked defensively. "He's just a guy I work with! He's _nice_, unlike someone _else _I know-"

"Hey! Hey, cool it," I said, nodding my head in concession.

"Sorry, I didn't mean that," she said, barely above a whisper. She looked genuinely sorry for her harsh words, which was more than I could say. What was it about this girl that was so forgiving? I wasn't anyone worth her concern; I thought my car was worth more than five Mike Newtons.

"Look," she said. "It's obvious that we can't talk without insulting one another, let's just… not." She continued mopping, hitting the play button on her i-Pod. Her headphones were still slung around her neck and I could hear the song drifting across the airspace.

"Claire de Lune?" I asked, surprised.

"Yeah," she said, sharing my shock. "You know it?"

"Of course I do. Debussy is classic."

"Oh… My mom likes to listen to classic music when she cleans. I guess it rubbed off." She was blushing again. I liked the red coloring under her cheeks-

Ah! What was I doing? Was I _admiring _Bella Swan? No way, this could _not_ be happening. I tried to ignore the music and the girl and just focus on my chore at hand.

Unfortunately, my focus was shattered once again, and all too soon.

"Edward! Hey man! What are you doing here?" Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie waltzed into the school like they owned the place. I guess, in their minds, they did.

"Oh, you know, learning my lesson, working to make the world a better place; the usual. What are you guys doing here?"

"Busting you out, Big E," Jasper laughed. "Come on, let's get out of here!"

"I can't. I gotta work."

"Come on, Edward! Principal Greene isn't even here! Let's go have some fun!" Emmett cheered. "No one will tell on you, right Swan?" He looked at Bella who had put her headphones back on and was shooting death glares at the four of us.

"Hey Bella, what are you listening to?" Jasper asked. I could tell from his tone he had an insult in mind.

Bella didn't answer him. In fact, she pretended not to hear him at all. This bothered him enough that he walked over to her and ripped the headphones off her ears. She stumbled backward and threw out her arm to smack him in the side, but he dodged it.

"You're listening to this junk?" He laughed at her brewing anger.

"It's better than having to listen to your voice," she snapped. Both Emmett and Rosalie chuckled while Jasper looked flustered.

"What? Did you just-" He stuttered in his shock at being insulted in his own territory. Emmett grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him away from the girl. Jasper's expression looked like he was in pain.

"Calm down, Jazz, it was a joke," Emmett said coolly. "So, Ed, are you coming or what?"

"Naw guys, maybe some other time," I said, trying to take the pressure off of Bella. Why I was trying to help her, I still didn't know.

"Sure, some other time," Jasper said weakly, clearly upset that I had denied him. "Well, I guess we'll see you later, loser!" He and Emmett headed out towards the door. Rose, however, stayed behind. I noticed she was eying Bella with some unidentifiable expression. She caught me watching her and perked up immediately.

"So, Edward, I'm have to stay after for a drama club meeting. Will you drive me home later?"

I rolled my eyes. "Why can't you get Emmett to drive you?"

She looked intently at me with her piercing blue eyes. "Oh, he wouldn't want to drive me-" I had serious doubts about that. "-He and Jasper have plans, and I leant Jasper my car anyway…"

I sighed in defeat. "Yeah, okay, I'll drive you. Meet me out front at four."

"Thanks, Edward!" She said happily, her golden curls bouncing. She leant forward and pecked me on the cheek before I could stop her.

"Rose!" I groaned, pulling away, but she was already skipping down the hall. I desperately tried to ignore the killing stares that I was getting from Bella while the minutes of my afternoon drifted away.

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I had to drive Rosalie home in my mother's minivan since my Volvo was still at the workshop. We pulled up to the front of her family's large, beautiful house- the biggest one in Forks.

"Alright," I said, "I guess I'll see you at school."

Rosalie turned to me, swishing her blonde curls and batting her eyelashes. "You know, my parents aren't home if you want to come in…"

I sighed and rolled my eyes. How long was this going to last? "Come on, Rose. You know nothing's changed. I don't like you like that, I never have, and I'm not going to. You're much more like a sister to me."

Her blues eyes shined defensively as she mumbled, "I know, I just-"

"Look, Rose, I don't know why you think these things at all! Go out with _Emmett_. He clearly likes you, and I _know_ you like him! Why do you keep doing this? Why won't you make everyone happier?"

She glared at me. "I don't need to hear this from you, Edward. Whatever!" She got out and slammed the door, storming up to the front steps of the house. I sighed again and pulled out into the road. The damn minivan couldn't drive me home fast enough.

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Hmm… sleep. The best part of my day. No lights, no sounds, just infinite black that held warmth and comfort…

Out of the darkness came a voice calling my name.

"Edward… Edward… Come on, wake up! Up up up!"

I cracked my eye open infinitesimally to see my mother, Esme, leaning over me, her wavy copper locks hanging over her shoulders. Sunlight was poring through the open windows throughout the house and reflecting through my bedroom door. It was later than I usually woke up, there must have been a reason I didn't hear an alarm.

"Hmm… Saturday, no school." I mumbled, snapping my eyes closed once again to the happy darkness.

I heard Esme sigh. "Tutoring."

My eyes cracked open once again, glaring, quickly followed my a groan. _Thank you, Mr. Greene._

I found myself at the school a few minutes later, groggy-eyed and ready to teach idiots how to do math or whatever. I noted that Bella Swan was there, looking just as tired as myself, though rather like she hadn't had a restful night's sleep than that she had been forcefully pulled from it.

Some annoying, over-achieving senior from the National Honors Society was giving us instructions on who we would be tutoring, and how to be helpful. Bella and I unconsciously drifted away from everyone else in the group, the people who actually _wanted _be to here. If only we could disappear altogether…

"So, you two are the new kids, the ones on probation?" The senior asked.

"Is it that obvious?" Bella asked glumly.

"Umm… yeah, I guess so," the boy replied. "I'm Eric, I'm basically in charge of the program. So, could you tell me which subjects you are strongest in so we can get you paired up with the right kids?"

"All of them," I answered firmly.

Eric looked a little intimidated by my reply, but turned to Bella who said quietly, "Maybe English? Anything but math, really."

"Ok, we can work with that," Eric said enthusiastically. "You can work with Julie. She's a freshman who needs help with English. She's reading _Wuthering Heights_." Bella's face perked up when she heard the title. "Cullen… How about you work with Bobby? He's in freshman biology, he needs some help." Eric lead us toward the building and we followed in sad resignation.

Working with Bobby was infuriatingly mundane. The kid was completely obtuse. I read the same definitions to him twenty times and he still didn't make any sense out of the material. I didn't know how I would be able to put up with this for another month. I glanced over at Bella while Bobby was busy banging his head against the textbook, trying to absorb information via osmosis. Bella was happily chatting about Heathcliff and Catherine with her freshman, looking bright in the beams of light that poured through the window. Her wavy brown hair was showing highlights of red, and her cheeks looked pink, glowing with warmth. She was surprisingly pretty…

When our time tutoring was over, I followed her out into the parking lot where she headed toward a tomato red pickup truck that looked like it was made circa 1950. The vehicle was ancient; I was amazed it still ran. Something compelled me to run to catch up to her before she got into the truck.

"Hey Bella! How's everything going?"

She looked at me with wide eyes of confusion. "Uh, fine, thanks," she mumbled, searching for her keys in her heavy messenger bag.

I didn't want her to leave yet, so I tried to think of something else to say. "Wow, tutoring really sucks, doesn't it? I've never been so bored in my life."

"Yeah, that must have been really terrible for you," she said sarcastically. I didn't know where this hostility was coming from.

"Wow, harsh much? I'm just trying to be friendly."

"Is this your idea of small talk?" She asked me bitterly, anger at not being able to find her keys vented on me. "I don't need you to pretend to be my friend, I know your kind."

My own indignation caught me in a sharp mood. "Look, don't pretend like you know me!"

"Oh, but I do," she replied quickly, her chocolate brown eyes digging into mine. "Why, you're Edward Masen. You sit at lunch table seven with Jasper Whitlock, Rosalie Hale, and the Cullen siblings, the most popular kids at school with the worst reputations, if not actual records. Your only true love is your car. The outfit you're wearing is made to _look_ like you don't care, but it's actually all designer, probably picked out by Rosalie Hale who is a bit of a fashionista. You dazzle practically every woman who walks by you-"

"Except you, apparently," I added gruffly.

"Oh, and I almost forgot! You spend your weekends torturing kids like Mike Newton and Tyler Crowley because they worship the ground you walk on! How's that sound?"

I glared at her. "Thoroughly predictable. Nothing I haven't heard before. Though, I'll remind you, it wasn't _me _who convinced Newton to jump."

"Are you going to go visit him in the hospital, then?" Bella retorted. She had me there.

"Newton has nothing to do with this. I already told you, I was just trying to be friendly."

"Sure you were," she laughed sarcastically. "What happened to 'I don't want to try to be friends?' from Monday, huh? Your character is so typical…" After her laughable impression of my voice, followed by the analytical musings, she once again started searching through her bag, looking for her keys.

"And how would you know what kind of a person I am? You learn it in that precious book of yours?" I asked rudely, pointing to her copy of _Wuthering Heights_ that was sitting on the hood of the pickup.

She ignored me and continued ripping through her bag, until the silver keychain fell out and landed in a puddle at her feet. She sighed and bent down to get it, but I beat her to it, picking up the key and slamming in on the hood of the truck, walking away as fast as possible with my anger to accompany me.

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**Hope you liked it! Review and I'll post more!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey guys, here's the next chapter, it's not quite as exciting or funny as some of the others but, idk, you tell me what you think. In case you have't heard yet about my new diet (slimming down for prom, woohoo!), I'm on what I call the** **Fanfiction Fat Flush, which basically means whenever I want to eat junk food, I write instead. So that means LOTS more chapters for you guys! Yay! Wish me luck, this is no easy feat...**

**Oh yeah, and this chapter is dedicated to my awesome chocoholic friend who reads all my stories. You rock man!**

Chapter 4

Part three of my cruel and usual torture: The Spring Play. Can I just say, acting? Yeah, _not _my forte. The best acting I did was convincing my mother not to punish me after I came home at three in the morning on Saturday nights. _That_ took skills, but I was pretty sure those skills were limited to a need-only basis. Hopefully they would give me something crew-related, leave me out of the spotlight.

"Aw, man, Emmett… I really don't want to do this," I groaned. Emmett and I were parked in his jeep outside the school building Wednesday afternoon, but I was still hesitant to leave the safety of the manly vehicle.

"Come on, buddy, it won't be that bad. Rose is in the drama club, at least you'll have someone to hang out with." He looked even the slightest bit jealous that I would get to spend extra time with his favorite girl. If the option presented itself, I would have _gladly _traded places.

"Yeah, I'll have two hours of a girl I don't like throwing herself at me incessantly while I try to get in a theatrical mood." Emmett's face fell ever so slightly when I spoke with such a disdainful tone. "Seriously dude, I don't know what you see in her. She's obviously blind if she doesn't see how much you like her, and I _know _she doesn't care about anyone but herself."

"Dude, she's hot!' Emmett said in his own defense.

"Yeah, but vain isn't my type. God, I don't even like blondes!" I laughed irritably while hopping out of the jeep and walking toward the school in the same attitude. "Just don't forget to pick me up at six, okay?"

"Yeah, dude. Hey! You should suggest to do something sweet, like West Side Story! _Maria!_" He bellowed while laughing his way put of the parking lot. I grumbled, intuitively knowing that seeing him back here in two hours was about as likely as winning the lottery.

I walked into the auditorium where a bunch of drama-type kids were gathered in a circle on the stage. I saw Rose, strategically located center stage so that all boys present would notice and fawn over her. She had ensnared three already, but the club was growing. I also saw Bella, looking cheery, talking to a thin girl with long, dark hair and rectangular glasses, both of them talking quietly and ignoring the scene that Rose was making.

"Edward! Hey!" Rose called, waving me over. I pretended I didn't see her and took a seat in the farthest corner of the room I could find.

"Alright everyone, let's settle down!" Mrs. Cope, who lead the Drama Club in addition to her secretarial services, called. "We need to get this show underway!"

As soon as everyone was seated and at attention, she continued. "This year, we're doing something very exciting! An original play, written by our very own Angela Weber-" The dark haired girl next to Bella smiled sheepishly and Bella gave her a congratulate pat on the shoulder, "-Based on the timeless Shakespeare classic, Romeo and Juliet. The Renaissance love story is modernized and set to contemporary music, provided by our school's orchestra. We will have the main characters of Romeo and Juliet, of course, divided in their love by social cliques within their highschool, and we'll also have the prominent supporting characters of Mercutio, Benvolio, Tybalt, and Rosaline! We've also added the character Nina to replace the role of the Nurse from the original. The roles to be filled are limited to these characters. All others are unnamed extras, but I would like to remind you that there are no small parts, only small actors! Everyone will have a big responsibility in this production."

Hmm, did being an extra mean I wouldn't have any lines? That sounded like a good option.

"So, let's get down to business, shall we? The role of Nina will be played by Angela-" everyone clapped lightly, but Mrs. Cope motioned that we wouldn't be clapping, "Eric will play Tybalt, Ben will be Benvolio, Austin will play Mercutio, and Rose will play Rosaline." Rose's beautiful features turned into a furious glare when she discovered she had been denied the lead. I looked around to see who else would fill the shoes of the hero and heroine of the piece.

"Finally," Mrs. Cope said lightly, ignoring the building tension in the room, "Our leads will be played by Edward Masen and Bella Swan."

I nearly fell off my chair in shock. Bella literally screamed.

"Are you _serious_?" She yelled, just as Rosalie burst out with, "You _must _be joking!"

"No," I said flatly, still in disbelief. "_No!_ Mrs. Cope, I am _not _an acting guy, you don't want me playing the lead."

She looked very seriously at both Bella and Rosalie, and finally at me. "My castings are final, Mr. Mason. Everyone else will be playing an extra."

She then went on to distribute copies of the play, while Bella sat perfectly still, shocked into a petrified state, and Rosalie set all her fury on me. Oh yeah, _this _was a good idea.

Half and hour later, we were knee deep in _Love Story_, the play written by Angela. We were reading off the script the part where Romeo and Juliet meet at the school dance and are magically enamored with each other, asking their friends for the identity of the other. I was doing my best, but couldn't summon the talents truly required to bring on a convincing portrayal of a love struck teenager. Bella, on the other hand, was a literary geek, and had fallen in love with the material as soon as it entered her hands. She was clearly secretly thrilled that we were doing this piece, even if she wasn't nearly as enthusiastic to be in the lead. Her inner actress was shining through as she recited her lines, whereas I was drowning.

"_The girl who's hair sparkles in the light just so,_" I recited plainly. "_Who is she?_"

"_I haven't seen her before_," Ben followed with his line. "_Perhaps one of the cheerleaders?_"

"_Even the cheerleaders aren't that beautiful. Did I ever think I was in love before this moment? I thought nothing would run so deeply in me since the day we won the football championship, but now I'm thinking twice._" I laughed at the corny sentiments, sounding all the more stupid in my monotone voice. Mrs. Cope glared at me.

"Edward Masen, are you _trying _to be bad at this?" She asked bitterly.

"No, it just comes naturally." I saw Bella laugh. It was a hearty, warm sound. Suddenly, I knew I wanted to hear her laugh again. Soon.

Mrs. Cope sighed. "Alright, why don't we try the third act, where Juliet and Nina get in the fight. And with more emotion that Mr. Masen seems capable of possessing, right girls?"

The two hours dragged on, and I embarrassed myself more and more. It turned out that, in this version of Romeo and Juliet, Romeo, Bevolio, and Mercutio were jocks on the football team, while Juliet and Tybalt and Nina were math geeks. Rosaline was Romeo's girlfriend on the cheerleading squad whom he broke up with to date Juliet, so many awkward moments between Rose and I were almost a written guarantee. Romeo and Juliet fall in love, but their friends want to keep them apart. In the end, after clever plotting, they have a happily ever after where the school realizes the evils of social cliques and everyone gets together to be friends. Oh, did I mention that it's all choreographed to song and dance? It was my own personal Hell.

I raced out of the auditorium and into the parking lot. As predicted, Emmett was no where to be seen. Wow, my friends were _really _reliable.

I had a choice. I could call my mother and ask her to pick me up, which would be mortally embarrassing, or I could get a ride with Rosalie, which would be closer to torture.

Before I had made a decision, Bella Swan walked outside, chatting with Eric about the play.

"I think you'll be great in the lead," he was saying. "At least it's not going to be another _staring Rosalie Hale_ show. It's a nice change."

"Thanks," Bella said honestly, though a little annoyed. Eric finally wandered away, and Bella spotted me. The sun was just setting, and the red light lit up the curve of her heart shaped face, and a small crooked smile creeped onto my own.

"Wow," she sarcastically when she saw me. "Your acting really does suck. Would it kill you to try?"

"Yup, and I'm too young to die."

"That's a thoroughly predictable answer," I heard her mumble as she turned away.

"So, what's the deal here?" I called after her. "First you want to be friends, then you don't, and now, what? You do again? I see how it is."

"Really?" She asked turning to face me again, her face crossed between angry and upset, like she was internally torn about whether or not she hated more or genuinely wanted to hear what I had to say. "How is it?"

"You don't care what people think about you, nor do you really like the people you hang out with, but you put up with it because you don't have the heart to actually be rude and tell someone to get lost, is that it?"

Her expression was frustrated and she frowned while staring at the ground. "Am I wrong?" I asked.

"No, I just… I don't like that I'm so easy to read. It's like you can see right through me."

"To the contrary, I think you're very difficult to read," I replied, the frustrated frown mirrored on my own face.

"How so?" she asked, earnestly curious.

"Well, for example, I still don't know whether or not we can be friends. Would you befriend someone you didn't like? By, say… driving me home?" This third option was much more amiable than either of my other two.

She surprised me by actually smiling a beautiful, glowing, red cheeked smile that caught my breath. "Yes, I could drive you home. But the question is, can you stand being seen in my ugly red pickup?"

"Mmm, probably not, but I can duck." I flashed her a dazzling smile, and could almost hear her heartbeat accelerate.

Soon we were in the ancient excuse for a motor vehicle driving toward my house. Bella Swan drove ridiculously slow, and her radio played approximately two stations, and that was on a sunny day. Yet, somehow, we still got into a fight over which station to listen to. Finally, she gave up.

"I am supposed to be befriending you, aren't I? This is as good a place as any to start," she mused.

"Of course it is!" I agreed, "Though I can think of some better ways."

"Like what?"

"How does twenty questions sound? I ask questions, you answer them."

"What _kind _of questions?" she asked skeptically.

"The get-to-know-you kind. Since you're so hard to read, and all," I added, noting that it made her smile.

"Okay, shoot."

"Favorite color?"

She gazed at the road for a little bit. 'I don't know… brown, maybe?"

"Maybe? You say that like you're not sure," I laughed.

"I'm not. Sure, that is. I like anything that isn't insanely green, like this town is." She motioned to the heavy green moss that was growing up the sides of the trees. Forks possessed an almost blanket of green. If she wasn't a fan of the color, this couldn't be the happiest place for her.

"Really, no green at all?" I asked, bewildered.

She looked me straight in the eyes, when suddenly indecision crossed her face. "Well, maybe _some _green is okay."

"Alright," I said, moving on, "Next question: besides this ridiculous music you listen to in here, what music do you usually listen to?"

"Umm… Linkin Park, Tom Petty… Vanessa Carlton-"

"Vanessa Carlton? Really? That's a pretty wide variety."

She shrugged. "I like the piano. Pretty much all her songs have great piano parts."

I continued on with trivial information; favorite flower (freesia and lilac), favorite book other than Wuthering Heights (anything by Jane Austen), until I reached more in depth questions.

"If you could have any superpower, what would it be?"

"Umm, the ability to be in two places at once? How's that sound? No, wait, I changed my mind!" Her face lit up with excitement.

"Well, what is it?" I asked in anticipation.

"You're going to hate me for this," she smile devilishly. "The power of privacy! Ha!"

"Oh, I get it, I'm being too nosey," I said while she laughed at her cunning comeback.

"No, no! I'm just kidding. Keep going."

"Secret desire?"

"Umm…" She really did pause this time, and I had the feeling she was trying to think of a lie. "To get a tattoo."

"You're lying."

"No, I'm not!" She said quickly, only further proving that she was.

I laughed and shook my head. "You're a horrible liar!"

"Almost as bad as you are an actor," she retorted. We both laughed it off.

"Do you have any plans for the future?" I asked.

"No," She said firmly. This answer threw me off guard.

"What do you mean? Nothing, at all? What about college, or a career?"

"No idea, though maybe I'd go somewhere warm…" She trailed off in thought, though I noticed she used the conditional tense. What was the condition? What was keeping her from planning for the future?

Driving by the hospital reminded me of one more question I had yet to ask. "What were you doing at La Push that night? With What's-his-name?"

She was silent, and frowned a little. "I'd tell you, but I'd have to kill you."

"Like you could," I laughed. The threat of violence coming through her lips was hilarious. "Fine then, could you tell me why your dad was so upset?"

She groaned a little. "Yeah, but it's kind of stupid."

"Try me."

"Well, a little while ago, Jacob and I stole some motorbikes, fixed them up, and started riding them, and my dad didn't approve."

"That's it?" I asked incredulously. "He just doesn't like motorcycles?"

"Well, when I say he didn't approve, I actually meant he yelled at me until he nearly gave himself a heart attack, grounded me until graduation, and sent my bike to the dump for immediate demolition."

Wow, Chief Swan was a crackdown when it came to motorcycles. "Yikes, that must have sucked."

"Yeah, it did! I really liked riding them, too! Luckily Jake saved my bike from the scrapper, but I haven't been able to sneak out to ride it in a while. Until last Saturday, actually…"

"So _that's _why he was so mad."

"Well, no, he doesn't actually know we rode the bikes. He was just angry for the association."

"Then I'd hate to see him when he's _really_ angry," I added.

"Can I ask _you_ a question, Edward?" She spoke up just as we passed the local diner where I saw Jasper, Alice, and Emmett all hanging out next to Emmett's jeep. I mentally swore then ducked down in my seat as we drove by so that they wouldn't see me. As soon as we were safely out of view I sat up again and answered.

"Yeah, go ahead."

She had obviously registered what I had done, and judging by her face, she wasn't happy.

"Never mind." For the rest of the ride she wouldn't say a word to me.

We were finally in front of my house. I could see Esme through the kitchen window, making dinner. She leaned against the counter and sighed like she often did, looking sad. I knew that at moments like this she was thinking about my dad.

Bella brought my mind back into the car. "I guess I'll see you at school then," she said coldly. She was staring out of the front window, straight ahead, not looking at me, her hair falling across her face so that I couldn't see her eyes.

"Thanks for the ride," I said, hoping to get a mellowed response. Nothing. "Right then. See you later." I climbed out of the car and walked into the house, unknowingly heading toward my piano.

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**Questions, Comments, Love it or Hate it, you gotta Review it!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: So yesterday I officially finished writing this story, though the ending might need some editting work... but this means I can keep posting chapters! Yay! I don't how many there will be yet, but not too many. I'm also working on a playlist. If you have suggestions, let me know! Thanks!**

Chapter 5

"_What is it about you that makes my breath stand still, Romeo?_" Emmett recited in a bad falsetto, reading off my script while I paced across the front porch, trying to remember my line.

"_I don't know, but since I saw you dancing across the room, my eyes can't stop following you, like… a planet in orbit… around… _the sun?" I asked the last bit like a question and Emmett nodded to tell me that I had gotten it right.

"_I never thought I was much of a dancer, but now I feel like I could dance all night if I were with you,_" Emmet continued, batting his eyelashes for dramatic effect.

I glared at him scornfully then struggled once again for my next line. "_Please, baby, give me all night, and then the next morning. I don't want this dance to end._"

"_Who are you? Where did you come from? How _are you going to pull this off, Ed?" Emmett dropped the falsetto as he directed the last question at me, not Romeo, and tossed the script on the porch floor.

"Hey, man, come on. I have three weeks to memorize all this!"

"Look, you couldn't do it in three months, and I'm not any help! Why don't you ask Rose to help? She's _good _at this stuff."

"No way. I'd rather set myself on fire than ask for Rosalie's help. You know she's playing my girlfriend in this play?"

"Rose is playing Juliet?" Emmett asked, looking at the script again.

"No, she's playing someone named Rosaline. I dump her for Juliet."

"Oh. Then who's Juliet?"

"Bella Swan. Look, can we just get back to lines?"

"Man, I'm telling you, there is nothing more I can do for you here. You need some serious help."

I sighed and looked down at the sad booklet in my hand. "You're right. You're totally right. I suck. I _really _suck."

"Dude, I don't see what the big deal is. So you can't act? It's not like it was going to be your future career or anything."

"No, maybe not, but I am going to be the one who embarrasses myself in front of the whole school if I don't learn these lines!" I yelled, kicking the bench Emmett was lounging on.

"Dude, dude! Calm down, I was kidding!" Emmett jumped up and walked over to me, placing his hand on my shoulder. "I'm just teasing you because, for once in his life, Edward Masen is not the best at something, and it's hilarious to watch. Now, you know that I support you. You're like a brother to me, and on opening night, I will be there. In the front row. With tomatoes." He smiled a big grin at me a clobbered me in a manly bear hug.

"Thanks man, I'm glad you've got my back," I said as we did our signature handshake. Esme pulled into the driveway just as we were finishing up and called out, "Edward? Emmett? Can you boys help me with the groceries?"

I yelled "Yeah, mom!" just as Emmett said, "Absolutely Esme!"

The next day, I had a plan. Edward Masen would _not _be left to look like a fool on opening night. The plan was ingenious really. Pay attention to everyone during play rehearsal, find whoever appeared to know their lines best, and beg them to help me after practice was over. Brilliant.

As rehearsal droned on, it was pretty evident that there were two people who knew their lines well already. Rose, naturally, and also Angela Weber, the author. Hmm, given the choice between the two of them, who would I choose? I wonder…

However, my plans were flipped when we started rehearsing one of the scenes with both Romeo and Juliet. Acting against Bella changed my opinion entirely.

Although her lines seemed somewhat dry when she had been running them with Angela, when she was onstage reading the part between Juliet and Romeo, a deep passion took over her character, and everything was different. Her expressions were so interesting, I could only look at her face. Her voice was heavy and sweet with emotion as Juliet spilled her feelings for Romeo, and soon I realized, I was reacting to her acting so much, it almost looked like I knew what I was doing! What a phenomenon! I was utterly amazed, I forgot to speak when it was my turn half the time.

What if I could learn all my lines like this? Would Bella let me practice with her? Would she help me? Would she even let me ask the question?

The worst question of all was, how could I do it without anyone finding out?

After rehearsal I followed Bella to her locker. She was pouring over a book again; it looked like a Jane Austen novel. What was with this girl and the classics?

I knew this wouldn't be easy, considering for the past week I had completely ignored her except when we read lines during rehearsal. After she drove me home that day, I had been accosted by my friends and was much too ashamed to admit that I had begged a ride from Bella Swan, and even worse, enjoyed her company. I wasn't expecting that she would be happy with me now.

"Bella," I barely whispered, franticly looking around to make sure no one saw what I was doing. She didn't stir. I tried again, a little louder this time, sure that no one else could hear me. "Bella!"

She whipped around to face me, her long brown hair swishing behind her back, her chocolate eyes glaring at me with fury.

"What? Are you speaking to me again?" She said, clearly irritated.

"No, not really," I admitted. How was I going to do this?

"Then what do you want, Edward?" She asked, her eyes closed in frustration.

"I need your help," I said quietly. "With my mines, I mean."

"Edward Masen needs _my _help! This is quite the surprise. Why should I help you?"

"Because I'm asking nicely?" I said in my smoothest vocie, flashing a crooked smile.

"Oh no, don't you try that dazzling thing on me. You clearly don't know much about asking for help," she said, closing her locker and heading out toward the parking lot. "It can't just be for yourself; it has to be for the common good. And a certain amount of self-disparagement is usually required." She was grinning wickedly, her eyebrows raised.

"Okay, I suck at reading my lines," I said. She continued to look at me with that grin of hers, laughing with her eyes. "Alright! I _really _suck at reading my lines! And the only person I know who can help me is you," I finally admitted. Here was my soft side, open for her attack.

Rather than shoot me down like I fully anticipated, she smiled angelically and said, "Alright. Meet me at my house tonight at six." And she walked away.

Wait, did that really happen? I checked my surroundings. Yes, tonight at six I was meeting Bella Swan to read over lines for the spring play. How low would my life sink before I hit rock bottom?

At six o'clock, sure as it rains in Forks, I was standing outside the Swan's residence, waiting for Bella to open the door. I could hear Chief Swan ranting inside about the current situation.

"Edward Masen is coming here? Why? What business does _that boy _have here? Besides that, you're grounded!"

Then I heard Bella melodic voice, heavy with irritation, calling back, "He asked for my help, Charlie! And I'll remind you, _you're _the one who got me stuck in all this business, remember?"

Just then, the door swung open, and Bella was standing in the doorway, looking flustered.

"Hi," She said, just standing there, not inviting me in, or moving aside.

"Umm, hi," I replied, looking around awkwardly. "So, are you going to invite me in, or do I have to read lines in the rain?"

She stepped back, nearly tripping as she did so. "Oh! Yeah, come in. Umm, my script is upstairs in my room, so… I'll be right back. Make yourself at home." She raced up the stairs and I meandered into the Swan's living room.

"Yeah… that's unlikely," I mumbled to myself as I wandered over to the couch, glancing at the various pictures Chief Swan had of Bella when she was very little, before she moved to stay with him in Forks all year round. They were summer pictures, shots of Bella at the beach with a young Quileute boy I assumed to by Jacob Black, mingled with school pictures. Charlie still had his wedding picture up on the mantle, years after his wife left him and moved to Arizona. It was sad.

I heard someone clearing his throat behind me and turned to see Chief Swan, with his police rifle in his hands.

"Whoa!" I gasped, stepping backwards and falling onto the couch.

"Hello, Edward," he said, amusement clear in his voice. "How are you this evening?"

"Uh, fine, thank you," I managed to say with clear enough diction to hide the fear in my voice. "Umm, thanks for letting me come over and practice lines with Bella."

"I didn't," he said very plainly and with contempt. "This is for school."

"Right…" I said, looking at the ground. Bella was right; Charlie was pretty darn scary when he wanted to be. I was pretty sure he wouldn't even mind shooting me with his rifle that was now sitting on the wall with his police officer's jacket and utility belt.

"I just want to get one thing clear, Mr. Masen," He said, looking at me very seriously. "You think that because you and your friends keep such a good record in the files that I don't know what kind of shenanigans you kids are up to, but let me tell you, I do know. And I'm keeping my eye on you." His brown eyes looked like they were going to burn holes right through the cotton of my t-shirt.

"Glad to hear it, Chief Swan," I said, barely audible, my face resentful. Luckily, Bella came down the stairs then.

"Are you ready to run lines?" she asked, looking between me and Charlie.

"Yeah," I said, following her into the kitchen where we sat at a square oak table with three unmatching chairs.

Charlie called from the other room, "I'll just be right in here, watching football." Meaning, he would hear everything that we said.

Bella rolled her eyes and said, "Let's just get this over with."

******************************************************************************************

Friday morning, one more week left until the play. Rehearsals were really starting to crack down. I had been covertly practicing lines with Bella for two weeks, and still no one had caught on, though my performance had improved exceptionally. After the third weekend in a row that I had narrowly escaped hanging out with Jasper and his crowd to spend time with Bella instead, my friends were a little suspicious. Jasper had a look in his eye when I walked up to them in front of the cafeteria, our usual meeting place.

"Hey Edward!" Alice chimed, so perky, so _early _in the morning.

"Hey man, how's play practice going?" Emmett laughed.

Contributing her two words, Rosalie said, "Oh, Ed's just the _star_ of the show, aren't you?"

I didn't pay attention to any of their greetings. I was still focused on Jasper's intent gaze. Finally, he motioned for me to come aside with him.

"Hey, Edward," he said, putting his arm over my shoulder while walking in the general direction of class, "I know you've been busy with the play and stuff, but I can't help thinking that you're _mad _at me for some reason." Really? He was just getting this vibe _now?_ " I mean, it's been, what, three weeks since La Push? I know you took most of the blame for that-" Try all the blame, "-but any of us would have done the same for you if our places were reversed, you know that, right? So, are we cool?"

He turned his aqua blue eyes at me, willing me to agree. If Jasper had one talent going for him, it was charisma. No one could deny such persuasive words. But that wasn't the only thing nagging at my decision.

I could tell him that yes, I was mad at him for screwing me over at La Push, and for letting Crowley destroy my car, but then I would be sitting by myself at lunch, no longer part of not just the popular crowd, but the only friends I had at this school. Tyler Crowley, who was already back at school, hobbling around on a pair of crutches, would gladly take my place at the lunch table. _Or_, I could pretend like nothing was wrong, and keep life the way it was before La Push, which was relatively happy. The only issue at hand was, would he screw me over again? Surely he'd learned his lesson, right?

"Yeah, dude. We're cool," I said, lying through my teeth and shooting him one of my fakest smiles.

"Really? You're sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure."

At lunch, it was like nothing had ever happened. Everything was back to normal. Alice and Jasper were holding hands, Emmett was laughing his head off telling some joke, and Rosalie was trying to divide her attentions evenly between Emmett and I without me noticing. Back to normal.

Just then, a very flustered looking Bella came over to the table. "Oh God," Rosalie whispered, turning her head. "Don't look who's coming."

"Edward!" Bella said, hurrying towards the table, ignoring the laughs that everyone else was giving her, "I have to leave school early because I have a doctors appointment, but I'll meet you after school, okay?"

Alright, my friends were officially dying of laughter. Whether provoked by the mind boggling amount of books she was carrying, or the truly ugly sweater she was wearing, or just the overall approach, her entire appearance was ridiculous to say the least. The worst part was, she was expecting my answer in front of all of them.

Jasper and Emmett were looking at me expectantly, their eyes tearful from laughing so hard. Alice had literally fallen over she was so far gone, and Rosalie looked like she was ready to murder poor Bella.

What would the Edward of three weeks ago have said? After all, that's what I had chosen to be, only hours before.

I smiled a wicked smile and said, "In your dreams." The table erupted with laughter again, but Bella's face flushed red, and the red turned to anger in her eyes and she stormed out of the cafeteria.

Surely she would understand when I explained later, right?

… Right?

That afternoon I found myself knocking on Bella's door. I could hear Charlie watching the football game inside on the television, calling to Bella to get the door. However, as soon as she opened the door and saw it was me, she slammed it in my face. Ouch.

"Come on, Bella. Please? I need to talk to you!" I knocked again and the door swung upon and Bella walked out onto the front step.

"Whoa! Hey Bella," I said nervously.

"What do you want?" she asked, her voice hostile and her face livid.

"I was hoping we could run lines together…" I said weakly, realizing now the error in my ways.

"Honestly, Edward, I can't keep up with you," she said, "I thought you didn't want to be my friend. Isn't that what you were saying earlier today?"

"No… It would be more prudent for you not to be my friend," I admitted. "But I really do need your help."

"So what, then? You want to be secret friends or something?" she asked incredulously.

"Exactly!" I exclaimed. "It's like you read my mind!"

"Really?" She said, raising her eyebrows. "Then why don't you try to read mine?" She paused for a second, glaring at me with utter contempt, then went back inside and slammed the door again.

"But I can't!" I yelled in frustration, walking away from the house.

Chief Swan must have heard me yelling because a second later he was on the doorstep yelling, "Masen!" but I was already running to my car, not looking back.

******************************************************************************************

I paced around my room for an hour after the incident at Bella's house. Something occurred to me that I hadn't thought about much. It was one of the conversations we'd had when we were running lines one day after school, sitting in the empty cafeteria. We had been talking about the night at La Push, one of the first times I'd done so without getting seriously angry.

"Way to be the superhero, saving Newton like that," Bella said. "I would _never _have been able to swim in that water; it's freezing this time of year."

"I'm not a superhero," I said. "I'd be one of the bad guys."

She paused, frowning, then shook her head. "No, I don't believe that. You might be dangerous, but you're not bad."

"How would you know?" I snapped, not thinking about who I was snapping at. She paused, but then spoke again.

"No, you're not bad. I see something good in you, or at least I could if-"

"I wish you wouldn't try. I'll only let you down."

She laughed. "No, don't you dare let me down. I know you're good, somewhere in that cold heart of yours."

Well, I had done it. I'd let her down, hurting her just like the typical villain would. I resolved that if there was anything I could do to make it up to her, I would contradict myself. I would prove that I could be the good guy for once.

At tutoring on Saturday, I was paired with Brilliant Bobby doing Biology once again, but this time I came prepared.

"What's that?" he asked as I pulled out a fancy piece of equipment.

"This, my friend, is a microscope. We're going to try something different today. I thought, maybe, since reading the words doesn't exactly make sense, we'll try identifying the phases of mitosis in real life. How's that sound?" He looked skeptical, but agreed.

In ten minutes, Bobby was looking at slides on an onion root with enthusiasm, calling out names like it was second nature.

"Anaphase!" he said excitedly, switching out the slide. "Give me another!"

"Okay," I said, handing him one more.

"Prophase?" He asked looking at me. I checked it.

"Yes, you got it right."

"Alright!" He said, slapping me a high five in the air. We were the loudest group in the room, but Bobby was so excited to be learning for once.

"You are officially the master of mitosis," I laughed as Bobby did a little dance around the microscope. I saw Bella eying me from where she sat and smiled.

I worked on my lines solo every night so that during play rehearsals I could give my best performance. I tried not to focus too much on the fact that Mrs. Cope continually showed Bella and Rosalie how the dancing with Romeo _should _be done by whisking me across the dance floor, but rather on Bella's surprised smile when I read my lines verbatim without the script. Rosalie's opinion towards me grew less and less, and I liked to think that her in-character hostility towards me as my ex-girlfriend was more and more influenced by her real-life dislike.

When I passed her in the halls, Bella still wouldn't talk to me, but I had a sneaking suspicion that maybe, just maybe, she wanted to.

Finally, my greatest act of kindness: I went to visit Mike Newton at the hospital. He had a broken arm, shoulder blade, and three broken ribs, but the rest of his treatment was for hypothermia and shock. All in all, he was a sad case to look at. The loser was spending his time watching daytime cartoons, and milking his injury for all it was worth.

"Hey," I said quietly when I walked into the room. Newton glanced at me, but his expression didn't change much. Still pained and annoyed.

"I came to say I'm sorry," I continued. Newton shrugged.

"So, are you glad you did?"

"No…" I admitted. "It's not what's going to make you feel better."

"Nope," he answered, eyes still focused on the TV. "The rocks at La Push made sure of that."

"You know, I made that jump once," I said. "We all did. Just, none of us did it at night. And… not in the spring either. I guess we didn't think you'd actually jump."

"Yeah, well, I don't blame you," he said, sighing. "I blame myself. I just wanted to impress you guys, you know? I actually wanted to be your friend! And now, I have no idea why… no idea! The one friend I needed was right there, and I defied her and jumped off a cliff. So there goes my intelligence, huh?"

Although he didn't say her name, I knew he was talking about Bella. "She's really something, huh?" I asked, looking at the ground.

"Whoa now," Mike said, whipping around to face me. "You're not interested in her, are you?"

"Hey," I said defensively. "The girl hates my guts, okay? Besides, what would be wrong if I did?"

"Nothing, except that she's way out of your league. I wouldn't like it. You look at her like… like she's something to eat."

"Thanks, buddy!" I said sarcastically. "Thanks a bunch!" Mike and I both laughed hesitantly.

"Yeah, okay, that was a little harsh," he said finally. "Hey, let the best man win, right?"

"Right," I agreed. "I'll see you at school."

"Yeah, see you."

* * *

**Questions, Comments, Love it or Hate it, you gotta REVIEW it! ........Please?**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I really like this chapter, there are a lot of cute scenes! There's the much anticipated spring play, as well as some other important plot things. I hope you like it too, but let me know how I did! P.S. If you find that my narriative is digressing a little as the chapters progress, let me know so I can do some editting, I wrote like half the story in two days, so I need fresh opinions. Thanks!**

Chapter 6

Opening night of the play. The whole school had turned out to see me make a fool of myself as Romeo, but the joke was on them. I knew my lines backwards and forwards. I had to dance with Rosalie in several scenes, which was, in essence, my worst nightmare, but I also got to see Bella one last time before she would no doubt exclude me from every part of her life. Emmett was in the front row, with tomatoes, as promised. Esme was sitting with Alice and Jasper, looking excited. Alice was armed with her camera, snapping photos of everyone on stage. Rosalie was wearing an excessively ornate pink dress that showed off her curves to no end, and even my wingmen, Ben and Austin, looked appropriate in their costume suits.

Almost the entire play took place during a school dance where Romeo attends with his friends and girlfriend, Rosaline. He sees Juliet and falls madly in love, and then has to duke it out with her best friend Tybalt. Finally, Juliet and Romeo convince their friends that it's alright to break the social boundaries in school, and the star-crossed lovers get their happily ever after. In other words, your typical school play.

Everything was going as planned. It was the scene where Romeo first set eyes on Juliet. Bella walked out onto the stage, flanked by Angela who was playing Nina, and I swear every person in the auditorium held their breath.

Bella was wearing a beautiful, blue v-neck ball gown that shone under the stage lights. It made her creamy skin glow and her chocolate eyes sparkle. Her brown hair swirled around her face in perfect curls. I had never seen her look so lovely. My breath caught and I forgot to say my line until Ben punched me in the arm from behind.

"_The girl who's hair sparkles in the light just so," _I stammered, "_Who is she?_"

Surely the whole room was wondering the same thing, for no one could have recognized that miraculous beauty as Bella Swan. Except me.

Little did she know, I had my own surprise up my sleeve. In the weeks of preparations, I had plotted with Mrs. Cope, who it would surprise no one was a hopeless romantic, a special addition to the musical score of the play. We were at a scene where Romeo and Juliet were the only two on the stage, and the stage crew rolled a piano out from behind the curtain, and I sat down. Bella's eyes were wide with confusion, but I winked at her as I began playing the first chords of what must have been a familiar tune to her, _Ordinary Day _by Vanessa Carlton, with my own twist on the lyrics.

__

Just a day, Just an ordinary day,

Just trying to get by

Just a girl, just an ordinary girl

But she was looking to the sky and

As she asked for my name

I started to realize

That Juliet was just the girl I was looking for

Like a shooting star, she shines

So I said

Take my hand, live while you can

Don't you see that all yours dreams are

In the palm of your hand

Bella looked so stunned by the time I had finished the song, neither of us knew what lines came next, so I did the only thing I could think to do.

I kissed her.

The crowd audibly gasped, but that didn't compare to the reaction I got from Bella. She literally forgot to breathe. I had to catch her before she fell over, but luckily the stage crew caught enough to know what was going on that they dropped the curtain so that no one would see. The chorus went on, singing the final song of the show, _Love Story _by Taylor Swift, but Bella and I just sat in the dark, not saying anything until it was our turn to get out in front of the curtain and do our final bow, the crowd cheering wildly. Emmett looking like he was going to jump out of his seat, and Alice was snapping photos like a mad woman, most which I would have to confiscate later, I was sure. Rosalie was furious, trying hard not to give away how mad she was in front of the audience. My mother had never looked so proud of me. The lights above the stage looked like stars, sparkling down on my fated performance.

After I had changed out of my costume I made my way into the lobby where everyone was milling around, passing out congratulations. My mother found me immediately.

"Edward! Oh, honey! You were wonderful! The song was beautiful, and you looked so handsome, what a transformation!"

"Thank you!" I said sincerely, "But please stop!"

She smiled at me. "Okay, honey. I'll see you at home." Seconds later, I was accosted by Eric.

"Hey, Masen!" He called, "Not bad improving at the end, there." He winked at me. "You've got mad piano skills!"

I saw my friends making their way out of the building, and Rosalie didn't look too eager to wait for me to catch up. Bella was with her father and Angela, the three of them making their way toward the door as well.

"Edward!" Mrs. Cope called from in front of the stage. "You were marvelous!"

"Thank you!" I said, turning on the dazzle factor as I desperately tried to escape her claws, "I couldn't have done it without you!" I raced out of the building leaving Mrs. Cope in a dizzied flurry. Outside in the fresh air, I was surprised to feel an arm on my shoulder.

"Edward!" I deep voice called, and I turned around to see the one person I _least _wanted to talk to. My father, Carlisle.

"What are you doing here?" I spat, walking away as fast as I could. Unfortunately, he could walk just as quickly.

"Your mom told me you were in the show, I wanted to come and see you! I thought we could go out and get a bite to eat-"

"No thank you," I said rudely, continuing my fast gait toward my car.

"Edward, don't walk away!" Carlisle called after me.

"You taught me how!" I called back, furiously opening the door to my car and speeding away down the street.

******************************************************************************************

Monday morning I found myself wandering around the school, looking for Bella. She wasn't in the library, though Alice and Rosalie were, Rose making a big show of ignoring me when I walked by her. I knew full well that she had hooked up with Emmett over the weekend after the play, finally. Emmett was over the moon, but Rosalie apparently thought she and I still had unfinished business.

Finally, at lunch I sat at my own table, away from my friends, and waited for Bella to show up. She finally walked in with Angela and Jessica Stanley. I watched her until she noticed, then invited her over with a curling finger motion. She looked confused, and Jessica whispered something in her ear, but she came over anyway.

"People can see," she said, hurt still evident in her voice from the last time I embarrassed her in public.

"And that would hurt your reputation, how?" I asked, smiling coyly as I indicated she should sit.

She did sit down, lunch tray in hand, looking around. "This is… different."

I just continued to smile, then looked at her bag. "What are you reading these days?" She showed me her copy of _Macbeth_.

"It's assigned reading," she said defensively. "You know, English…"

"Right," I nodded.

"I don't understand, Edward," she said, her head shaking slowly back and forth in confusion. "I thought we weren't going to be friends."

"I said that we _shouldn't _be friends, not that I didn't want to be. I'm tired of trying to stay away from you, Bella. I'm giving up."

Anger flared in her eyes then and she got up, running out of the cafeteria. I was on her heals before she he even left the building.

"Bella, wait!" I called after her.

"What do you want, Edward? Because I don't believe you when you say that it's to be my friend. You're always talking to me like you're trying to say goodbye, then you show up again like nothing's wrong."

She was furious, and heading toward her truck. I grabbed her shoulders to stop her and the motion swung her around to face me. The look in her eyes made then connection in my mind.

"You're scared of me," I said, stepping back.

"No," she answered shaking her head. "Only scared of losing you. I don't want let you into my life if I have to give you up. Because I don't think I'd want to."

I stared at my feet as I replied, "You _should _be scared of me. I'm not a good friend for you."

She shook her head again and left me standing on the sidewalk.

That afternoon I was working on my car that had finally made its way back to me after the Crowley disaster. It still wasn't in good shape, but after a few hours I was confident that I could get it to run properly. I had invited Emmett, my sidekick mechanic, over to help expedite the process. His surprise could not have been more evident when he walked into my garage and heard Debussy coming out of my stereo.

"Whoa! What is _this _you're listening to?" He cried out, making a show of covering his ears.

I laughed. "It's called _classical_ music, Emmett, you might want to check it out some time."

"Are you serious? My grandmother wouldn't even listen to this!" he laughed switching off the radio.

"Hey! Bella likes it! Don't call me the only freak in Forks!" I laughed, giving Emmett a push in the side and he grabbed some tools and headed to the rear end of the car. However, Emmett didn't return the friendly mood.

"Bella? Bella Swan?" He asked incredulously.

"Yeah?" I said slowly, unsure why this upset him so much. "What about her?"

"Nothing, except, well… You're always hanging out with this girl nowadays. You hardly have time for your real friends anymore. And you've got Rosalie thinking that lip action between the two of you at the play was kind of, well… real."

"What do you mean, 'real'? It's a play! It's all fake!" I burst out indignantly.

"I mean chemistry!" he said, exasperated. "I mean you two have chemistry! It's obvious! Everyone sees it! Me, Rosalie-"

"Look, I don't care what Rosalie thinks! I'm _glad _she's with you now-"

"Yeah, but do you know _why _she's so upset about you and Bella?" He asked, more seriously this time.

I was lost for an idea. "No. Why? Tell me."

"Because she's freaking jealous!" Emmett exclaimed. "She's jealous because you like Bella and you never liked her!"

"Rosalie knew I didn't like her," I argued.

"Yeah, she knew that, but she also figured that you weren't going to turn around and like someone else. You're the first guy Rose's ever met that didn't go head over heals for her within five minutes. That's the only reason she was all over you for so long. She couldn't understand why you didn't like her, but she figured if not her, then you wouldn't fall for anyone else."

I laughed in shock. "Wow, she really is that vain."

"Hey!" Emmett barked defensively. "Lay off Rose! My point is, this girl's changed you, and you don't even know it!"

"What, did Rose say that too?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

"No," Emmett said quietly. "I did."

******************************************************************************************

Friday night, after a week of missing Bella for every second of every day, I found myself walking up the Swan's driveway. Instead of going out with Emmett and Jasper, I knocked on Bella's front door once again. She answered looking surprised, but not upset to see me.

"Edward! It's nice to see you." She smiled and my knees felt like jello. I held out a small, square package that was wrapped in the only wrapping paper I could find that didn't have balloons or Christams wreaths on it. She looked at the package with a confused expression.

"I got you something," I said quietly, trying not to smile too much. This was just part of my plan, one small step at a time, working my way toward becoming worthy in her eyes. Her face fell when I said these words, however.

"Oh, no… I hope you didn't spend any money on me," she said meekly.

"You don't like getting presents?" I asked, surprised.

"No, I just hate it when people spend money for me, it seems unfair," she said, shrugging. A smile lit up my face.

"Then this is perfect! I didn't spend any money. It's a CD; I made it for you."

Her expression of confusion turned to awe. "You… _made _it?"

"Yeah! I recorded myself on the piano, just some songs you might like. The first one I actually wrote…" My voice trailed off as I thought of how stupid I must sound. Bella's face didn't show that she thought it was stupid at all. She looked sincerely happy.

"Wow… Thank you!" Her smile made my entire evening. I slowly walked away, listening as her father asked who was at the door.

"What was it?" Charlie called from his usual spot by the TV.

"Edward Masen… he brought me a gift."

"A gift? You know, Bella, boys like that… well, they have, ahem," he seemed very reluctant to say the following sentence and coughed a lot to postpone it. "Boys like that have… expectations. The rules aren't going to change for him!"

Bella laughed and said, "Okay, Dad. How about I make us some dinner?"

I smiled and drove home. I decided to pull a leaf out of Bella's book and cook for my own mother for once. Esme was delighted to a) have me home on a Friday night, and b) have me cooking her dinner. She sat at the kitchen counter sipping wine while I whipped up some spaghetti.

"So, Edward," she said tentatively, "I talked to your father yesterday. He said he saw you at the play. For about ten seconds."

"Sending a check once a month doesn't exactly make him a father," I said begrudgingly.

"Edward…"

"He left us mom! How can you forgive that? He left you! How could he leave you when he loved you so much?"

"I told you, there were a lot of reasons… _You_ need to forgive him."

"Yeah, well, I'm not as compassionate as you."

******************************************************************************************

The very next Monday, I walked into school holding hands with Bella. This is exactly what I had been hoping for. I picked her up that morning in my Volvo, returned to its former health, and we talked about everything we could possibly fit into the few minutes it took to drive to Forks High School. Everything was smooth sailing.

"Everyone is staring at us," She whispered as we walked hand in hand toward the school building.

I laughed, trying to lighten the mood. "No, not that guy, he just looked."

We were getting a lot of looks, from Jessica Stanley, and Tyler Crowley, Lauren, a particularly jealous girl who's nose always looked like she was smelling something unpleasant, and my friends as well. Rosalie's face held a look of fury that I had anticipated, but with a slight altercation that I hadn't expected. Defeat. She had accepted the status quo.

One look, however, unnerved me. It was from James, the football team's quarter back, notorious player and not someone you wanted to associate yourself with. I didn't like the way he was looking at Bella. I didn't like it at all.

At lunch, I walked Bella through the lunch line, picking out a little of everything, unsure what were her favorites.

"What are you doing?" She objected. "You're not getting all that for me?"

"Half is for me, of course," I said, smiling.

She just shook her head, her brown waves swinging gently. I itched to reach out and tuck the strands behind her ear, but decided to wait. Baby steps, my mantra for life with Bella.

We sat down at our own table, ignoring the stares, continuing our conversation from that morning, until Alice spontaneously bombarded us.

"So, this is where you're sitting nowadays, Edward?" My little pixie of a friend cleverly made her way over to the table, setting herself down with purpose, oblivious to the whispers and looks coming from all sides. Alice was a trend setter, and this was her big favor to me. She was going to accept Bella just like I had, and she was starting now.

"Hi Bella!" She said cheerfully, flashing a brilliant smile at the girl who was meekly looking at the trays of food. Alice moved herself so she was sitting right next to her, and gave Bella's arm a friendly squeeze. "You smell nice! I never noticed before, is it a new perfume?"

Bella blushed furiously and I internally groaned at Alice's overt friendliness. "Umm, no," Bella said quietly. "I think it's just my shampoo-"

"You know, Bella," Alice said quickly, "You would look so beautiful if you knew how to do your makeup. Don't you think, Edward?"

"She looks perfect all the time," I snapped immediately, without thinking. My own reaction flustered me and I took a step backward in confusion. "I- I'm going to get us drinks." I rushed to grab two sodas from the vending machine across the cafeteria. Why did I have to say that? If Alice hadn't scared her off already, my own word vomit would surely do the trick. Stupid stupid stupid-

I was intercepted.

"Edward!" Rosalie said brightly, a golden smile distracting me from my destination. "I see you're with Bella now. That's great." The smile remained, along with a cheery tone that was uncharacteristic for Rose.

"What's up, Rose? You can drop the attitude, I don't buy it anyway." I gave her a piercing stare as the white toothed smile dissipated and her blue eyes drifted towards the floor.

"I- I just- I was… I was just trying to be nice Edward."

This time her sincerity threw me of guard. I stared at her in disbelief. "You're serious."

She looked at me with her deep blue eyes that showed with clarity her honesty. "Yes, Edward, I'm being serious. I know, shocker." She rolled her eyes, but I could tell she was a little offended.

"I'm sorry, Rose, I just thought-"

"I know what you think of me, alright? You made that obvious enough all those weeks you ignored me." Her words were sharp now, but they were true.

"I really am sorry, Rose. But you know we weren't right for each other." I tried to be a gentle as I could. Rosalie wrapped her arms around herself almost protectively, shielding herself from whatever I had to say.

"It's okay, really. No hard feelings. It's… way over." I caught her glancing towards my table where Bella, Alice, and now Jasper and Emmett were sitting. Her eyes lit up in a way that I had never seen before when she looked at Emmett. My grizzly bear friend picked up on her gaze and waved. Rose's cheeks turned the lightest shade of pink before she suddenly turned back towards me.

"So… you don't mind if we still sit with you?" She asked tentatively.

I grinned a crooked smile. "Of course not, come on and join us-"

I looked back at the table and my heart nearly froze. James, the vile jock I hate grown to hate in mere seconds was creeping up behind my innocent Bella with a evil, hungry look in his eye, which was indecently drifting down towards her backside as he edged closer and closer, Bella completely unaware of the monster who was closing in behind her.

I flew across the cafeteria without even leaving an explanation with Rosalie, wrapping my arms protectively around Bella just before James reached her, barking a warning.

"Where do you think you're going, buddy?" I asked calmly, but coolly, still shielding Bella from his unfriendly gaze.

James stepped back in reaction to my advance, but played off the situation just as coolly. "Calm down, Masen, I was just coming to say hi to my pal Jasper," He smirked and tossed Jasper a high five, laughing all the while. "Why are you keeping that girl under lock and key, huh? She's not you're property." He continued looking at Bella with the same hungry stare, and I snapped.

"You will keep your insulting gaze to yourself, James."

"Hey, Edward, Calm down!" Jasper chided, laughing all the while. "James didn't do anything wrong!"

Those were the words that broke my composure. My eyes saw Jasper and James laughing in almost slow motion, cackling like hyenas. Annoying, but still predators.

"Go outside and get in the car," I said quietly to Bella who simply nodded, fear in her own eyes, and left the room. James got up and started to go after her, but I got in his way.

"Hey, come on now, Masen, boy's gotta learn to share-" His eyes were following my angel's retreating figure, but I broke his focus with contact from my fist.

James was on the ground in a second, hands clutching his nose, which I was positive I had broken. Jasper launched himself out of his chair, racing between the two of us.

"No, man! Not cool-"

"No, Jasper, I'll tell you what's not cool: Looking at someone's girlfriend like she's a piece of meat when he's already been told nicely to look elsewhere. He had it coming."

"That's it, Edward," Jasper said with finality. "We're done. It's through."

"Okay," I agreed. "We're done here."

I stormed out of the school, got in the car, starting it immediately.

"Put on your seat belt," I barked as we whipped out of the parking lot.

Bella complied, but looked at me nervously. "Are you okay?" She asked.

"No," I replied curtly. My eyes were focused on the road, but my mind was still back in the cafeteria, focused on that animal, James…

"Bella? Distract me please."

"I'm sorry, what?"

I sighed tensely. "Just prattle about something unimportant until I calm down. I really don't want to be tempted to go back there and beat James into a pulp."

"Umm…" she breathed nervously, her brown eyes searching for something to focus on. "I'm going to run Alice over with my truck tomorrow."

I laughed. "What? Alice may be annoying, but she's never really prompted homicidal thoughts in anyone, not yet anyway." I grinned at the thought of Bella trying to charge down someone as small as Alice. "What brought this on?"

"She's determined to take me shopping, and I _really _don't want to go. So, I figure, broken leg, can't drag me to the mall."

Now I was really laughing. "Good luck with that! No man, truck, or broken leg has ever kept Alice from shopping. I think you're pretty much stuck."

"Well, perhaps we'll start a new record." She smiled at me in a way that warmed the very depths of my once cold heart. We were parked in front of her house, and my pulse accelerated as I prepared to ask a question so nerve racking, I was almost fearful for the answer.

"Bella, I know you don't like to go out much, but, I was wondering… Would you go out, um, on a date with me?"

Her cheeks flushed my favorite shade of red as she stumbled to answer.

"When?"

My heart skipped a beat. She hadn't said no, but she didn't say yes either. "Saturday?" I asked.

"Where would we go?" She giggled. "I can't even eat lunch in the cafeteria with you, without getting rushed out for my own protection!"

I felt like I just might be pushing my luck, but said it anyway. "I know a good restaurant in Port Angeles. Do you like Italian?"

Her face fell a little. "What, did I say something wrong?" I asked quickly.

"No!" She assured me. "It's just… I'll have to tell Charlie."

My face perked up. "Wonderful. You should introduce me to Charlie."

"But he already knows you!"

"I mean introduce me as your boyfriend." I paused, waiting to judge her reaction.

"Is that what you are?" She asked, looking at me like a deer in the headlights.

"If you want me to be," I said honestly. "So what it's going to be? Am I going to get to meet Charlie for real? Or is Chief Swan going to put a restraining order on me?"

That made her smile. "I suppose I could introduce you two. Officially," she added. She sighed as she fumbled for the door, but I stopped her hand.

"Really, what's bothering you?" I asked, urging my dazzling capabilities to will her into telling me the truth.

"Nothing!" she exclaimed. "It's just that, with Charlie, less is always more, and… this is more. For him."

"I see. Well, we'll just have to see how it goes, right?"

She smiled at me one last time. "Right."

* * *

**Questions, Comments, Love it or Hate it - REVIEW IT!!!!! Pretty please? With a cherry on top?**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hmmm, so I think there's only like, two chapters left. I may just go ahead and post the rest tomorrow, because I have a HUGE music festival this weekend, two days long, and odds are I won't be home for more than a few conscious hours, set aside for showering and eating meals (somewhat necessary things, or so I hear...). Anyway, I'll figure all that out tomorrow... Yay Friday!**

**This is where I started writing half the book in two days, so it might get a little choppy. Let me know how it flows!**

Chapter 7

I was all ready to pick up Bella for dinner. Alice had predicted that I would need some sort of fashion advice, arriving right on cue to assure me that I was presentable to officially meet that father of the girl of my dreams. Jasper still wasn't talking to me, but Alice never let what she called "freakin' boy-PMS" get in the way of our friendship. While Jazz made a point of clearly ignoring me, Alice was her same bubbly self at all times of day. Rosalie and Emmett, on the other hand, were far too absorbed with each other to care about any issues revolving around anyone else.

After Alice gave me the final Cullen seal of approval, I hurried over to the Swan residence. However, I was surprised to see an unfamiliar car in the driveway. My confusion was soon rectified when the familiar figure of Jacob Black exited the house, pushing his father's wheelchair up the walkway toward the car.

I got out of my Volvo and walked with purpose towards the house door, passing Jacob along the way. Both him and his father gave me an unforgettable look of contempt as I passed them, Billy Black's full of disapproval, and Jacob's resembling jealousy. I restrained myself from smirking as I knocked on the front door and Bella answered, looking beautiful, and excited.

"Edward! Come in!" She said brightly. "Charlie's ready to meet you!"

Charlie made his way to center stage, sure to present himself as the epitome of protective father. "Hello, Edward, come in."

"Thank you, Chief Swan," I said politely, as he ushered me to sit down on the sofa. I sat awkwardly by myself while Bella was forced to sit next to her father. To my selfish joy, she looked a little upset at the seating arrangements.

"So, I hear you're taking my daughter out to dinner," the Chief said briskly.

"Yes, sir, that's the plan. We're going to meet my friends Emmett and Rosalie at a restaurant in Port Angeles."

"Really? Which restaurant?" He asked. So the Spanish Inquisition begins.

"Uh, La Bella Italia," I said a little timidly. It only occurred to me then that the restaurant I picked had Bella's name in it. Wonderful, she would think that was totally lame…

"Ah, I'm envious. I love Italian," Chief Swan said with a swipe of the hand past his forehead. He was nervous about this meeting too. Probably because it was me. Figured.

"Dad, there's leftover lasagna in the fridge…" Bella mumbled, the red I loved rising under her cheeks once again.

"And we can bring home something for you, Chief!" I added, desperate for anything to get me into the good graces of Bella's father.

Charlie looked a little flustered. "Well, that would be nice I guess-"

"Great!" Bella said suddenly. "So we'll be going then-"

"Not so fast, Bells, I'm still getting to know your _boyfriend_." Charlie weighed extra emphasis on the last word, every father's least favorite in the English language. "So what grade are you in, Edward? You seem older than Bella."

"No, sir, I'm seventeen. We're both juniors."

"Hmm…" He thought about that information, clearly sizing me up. "You're meeting your friends, you say? You're not planning on staying out late, are you?"

"No, sir, I'll have her home early. I promise I'll keep her safe." Sincerity rang with each word. I wouldn't let a mosquito bite her, if it came to that.

"Well, I guess I will see you later then," the chief said resignedly.

I heard Bella groan quietly in relief when we finally left the house. "_That _was a nightmare," she said as we began driving down the road. "I've never been so embarrassed. First the Blacks decide to extend their warnings, and then Charlie has to lay down the law-"

"Wait, what did the Blacks say?" I said, quick to remember the contemptuous glare I was received from both Billy and Jacob.

"Oh, nothing important," Bella said all too quickly. Her cheeks were their signature red and she was avoiding my gaze. "Just putting their opinions where they aren't necessary." She sounded more than a little bitter at mentioning them.

"I thought you and Jacob were friends," I prodded smoothly.

"We were. I mean, we are-" Something was clearly bothering her as she struggled to find the right words. "He's… he's just a little protective of me, that's all."

"Really? What did he say?"

She smiled. "Nope, can't tell you."

I laughed. "Is this one of those, 'I'd tell you but then I'd have to kill you' moments?"

She laughed with me. "One in the same."

"So it _does _have to do with the night you were at La Push?"

Bella paused before saying, "Yes, but that's all you're getting out of me, I swear."

"Okay, okay, I get it. Privacy. So what did Billy have to say?"

"Do you really want to know?"

I thought for a second, then made my conclusion. "I think I already know, but I want you to tell me anyway."

Bella rolled her eyes. "Alright, if you insist. He said that I shouldn't be going out with you, that you were a bad influence and a hoodlum, disturber of the peace, and an all around bad guy." She grimaced as she said the words, but I was trying hard not to laugh. "There, I've said it. Are you surprised?"

"Not at all, it's exactly what I expected," I laughed.

Bella frowned. "It's such silly nonsense… Old men putting opinions where they don't belong-"

"No, Bella. It's not silly. He's right. I was that boy." She stared at my in disbelief at my confession. "But not anymore," I added. "I'm reformed. _You've _reformed me, which is why I don't mind Billy Black's warnings. They mean nothing anymore."

Bella remained silent, but I hoped that she wasn't thinking that I was being in any way dishonest. I had no way of knowing.

We arrived at the restaurant in a little under an hour. When we walked in, I knew that all the waitresses were probably in a frenzy that Emmett and I were there - We had been through this routine before - but tonight I only had eyes for Bella. Emmett and Rosalie were already sitting in a booth in the back of the room, Emmett looking over Rosalie with such deep caring and adoration, and Rosalie with the lightest pink cheeks of joy that she was trying to mask with pretend boredom.

"Is she even Italian?" I heard her whisper.

"Her name is Bella," Emmett replied quietly as we approached the table. They both looked up at us as we sat down, Emmett's arm draped over Rosalie's shoulder.

"Hey guys, I'm glad you could join us. I _love _Italian food." I said my words forcefully, so as to end any further conversation on my choice of restaurant. Rosalie flashed me a momentary glare, but ignored me for the rest of the night.

A very pretty waitress with short black hair was making her way over to the table. "Hello, my name is Amber and I'll be your server tonight. What can I get you to drink?" I could practically hear the imprudent thoughts running through her head as she looked over Emmett and I. Emmett was sincerely enjoying the attention, but I preferred to get her mind back on work.

"Bella? What would you like?" I asked, directing my dazzling gaze on the gorgeous girl beside me.

"Uh, I'll have a coke?" she said almost questioningly.

"Make it two," I added, smiling at the flustered waitress.

"Sweet tea for us," Emmett said, pointing his finger between himself and Rosalie.

Amber smiled again, a little unnecessarily. "I'll be right back with those."

While Emmett and Rosalie started looking over the menu, Bella whispered to me, "Edward, this is a really nice restaurant, are you sure-"

"Don't worry about it," I replied firmly. "Order whatever you would like."

Amber returned with our drinks, though it was obvious she has also taken an extra minute to reapply makeup before attending to us again. "Are you ready to order?" She asked, looking directly at me, a flirtatious smile playing on her lips. Again, I turned to Bella.

"Um… I'll have the mushroom ravioli," she answered. I got the same thing, while Emmett asked for something called "Italiano," and Rosalie stuck with a salad.

"Come on, Rose," I said, laughing once the waitress walked away, looking even more dejected than before that she hadn't gotten one glance over from either Emmett or myself, "Lighten up! Why not enjoy your meal for once? Always the salads…"

"I'm on a special diet," Rosalie snapped at me, her blue eyes burning.

We played games while waiting for our food, like guessing what everyone in the restaurant was thinking. I was usually the best guesser. After we all finished eating, Emmett and Rosalie got up to take a turn on the dance floor. They looked like professionals compared to the older couples who waddled their way around on canes and walkers.

"Would you… like to dance?" I asked Bella hesitantly while she watched Em and Rose swirling across the floor.

"Uh… No," she said, laughing a little. "I- I can't dance."

I smiled. That didn't seem possible, someone as beautiful as her. "I don't usually dance either," I said, "At least, not with anyone else."

"No! I mean, I really can't dance!" she exclaimed. "I have the worst balance, and I fall a lot-"

"It's all in the leading, trust me," I said, smiling as her embarrassment turned her cheeks pink again. "Come on, for me? Please?"

I did my best to dazzle her, and finally she complied. However, she truly wasn't kidding- I never knew anyone who was a worse dancer. Finally, after stepping on her feet several times, I lifted her every so slightly to stand on my feet, like fathers dance with their five year old daughters at weddings.

"Sorry," she laughed. "I told you I was bad at this!"

"But in all fairness, you did warn me," I added.

"That's right!" She giggled, before leaning her head against my shoulder as we continued to sway to the music. It felt perfect, like it was exactly where it belonged.

"Hey, after this, I have a little surprise," I whispered in her ear.

"What kind of surprise?" She asked curiously, a smile already forming on her lips.

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise!"

We left Rosalie and Emmett with a cheerful goodbye, and were racing down the road in my Volvo a few minutes later.

"Where are we going?" Bella asked suspiciously. "Can't you slow down? Your driving kind of scares me!"

"I've never been in an accident, I promise," I assured her, but slowed down a little anyway. I didn't stop until we got to my destination.

I helped Bella out of the car and pulled her to the middle of the road, placing her feet in two specific places.

"Okay," I said when I was done. "Do you know where you are?"

"Umm, Forks, Washington?" Bella said, hiding her laugh. "What's going on, Edward? You're acting like a crazy person!"

"Good guess, but no. You are actually straddling the border between Forks and La Push." I waited for her to understand the meaning of my actions. "You're in two places at once!"

Recognition dawned on her face and she laughed, pushing me in the stomach. "Edward Masen! You are by far the silliest person I know!"

"Hey! Hey, it was your wish!" I laughed while she chased me around the empty street. "Come on, I have another surprise for you."

I pulled her back into the car and grabbed something out of the arm rest.

Her eyes widened. "Tattoos?" She laughed. "Oh man, this is what I get for lying, huh? Is there any way I _don't _have to put one of those on?"

I smiled deviously. "Nope. Okay, pick one." I had three options: An angel, a half moon, and a rose.

She looked at them all and finally pointed to the moon. "That one."

"The least inconspicuous of them all," I agreed. She had me put it on inside of her wrist. Her skin was such a beautiful shade of ivory, it took my breath away. I slowly rubbed the temporary tattoo onto her skin, and appreciated the way her face lit up with such joy. _She_ was beautiful, down to her soul. I couldn't help but run my fingers across her wrist where the half moon now shined against her pale skin.

Bella and I drove through La Push to the Beach. It was one of the less popular beaches, so we hoped we wouldn't get kicked out like in past times. Bella claimed that her father was off duty tonight, so we wouldn't get in trouble with him, at the very least.

The beach was beautiful in the night, lit only by a few street lamps, the sky too covered in clouds that were gently misting to give us any light from the moon. The sound of the waves coupled with the hiss of the wind was the most calming sound I had ever heard. Never before had I seriously considered Forks my home, expecting that I would get up and move the first chance I got, but now it seemed like there was no other place in the world that would feel like home to me. Bella had made it my home.

She breathed in the air ocean air and lifted her face towards the sky, letting the rain land on her cheeks. It seemed odd to me at first; something about the action seemed off, but then I realized, it wasn't something that normal girls did. Normal girls, like Alice or Rosalie, usually wore makeup, even in as rainy a place as Forks. Bella didn't wear makeup, nor should she. Her skin was already perfect.

"What are you thinking?" I had to ask. I watched her, analyzing every expression.

She looked at me, a surprised smile on her lips. "Actually, I was thinking about that day you said you were the bad guy, not the superhero." Yes, she was blushing again. "I was just thinking how wrong that seemed, especially tonight. There's no way you could hurt me."

"I don't scare you?" I asked playfully.

"No more than usual," she said, penetrating my calmness with her genuine smile that sent my heart into a frenzy.

"What is the 'usual'?" I asked casually, though insanely curious.

"Well, just that, I want to stay with you, much more than I should." She looked sad, like there was something else she wasn't telling me. I fought to make her happier again.

"Yes, that is something to be afraid of, indeed. Wanting to be with me. That's really not in your best interest." I grinned at my sarcasm, and the grin was catching. "And so, the lion fell in love with the lamb."

She looked down at her feet and shook her head. "What a stupid lamb."

"What a sick, masochistic lion!"

We kept walking along the beach, hand in hand, until I stopped suddenly.

"I was thinking, there was something I wanted to try." I placed my hands slowly on either side of her face and looked into the unfathomable depths of her eyes that were shining with recognition.

"You're going to kiss me?" she barely whispered, but she seemed excited.

"I might be bad at it," I admitted warningly.

Her thin lips curled into a grin as she let out a soft laugh. "That's not possible."

I hesitated, then pressed my lips gently upon hers, breathing in her sweet scent. I felt her hands wrap around the back of my neck, entwining her fingers with my hair. I tried to stay still, worried out of my mind that I would do something wrong. Then, I realized I was doing just that; I was forgetting to breathe. Bella was still moving forward, but I had to forcefully push he back and take in a slow, careful breath.

"Oops," she laughed a little nervously as I swayed on spot.

"That's an understatement."

She grinned again, and laughed, "But in all fairness, you did warn me."

I nodded in agreement. "You'll have to forgive me, I don't have a lot of expertise in this area."

"That's fine by me," she said gently, taking my hand in hers again, and leading me down the beach.

The night would have been perfect, if an old friend hadn't been lurking just down the beach.

"Bella," I heard a deep voice call from the shadows of a large piece of driftwood. The shadow moved, and I could just make out the shape of Jacob Black in the reflections from the street lights.

"Jake!" She called out, surprised. "What are you doing here?" He approached us, his face determinedly unhappy, his posture menacing. I instinctively wanted to shield her, to protect her.

"Jacob," I acknowledged him, nodding my head very slightly. He didn't return the favor, just stared at me with a fiery glare.

"Really, Jake," Bella said, trying to move past our unpleasant greetings, "What are you doing here?"

"I should ask the same of you," Jacob snapped, not taking his eyes off me.

"Come on, Jake, you knew I was going out with Edward-"

"Yeah, well, the night's over. You two should be getting home."

"Hey!" I yelled. "Now listen, punk-"

"Don't make me call the police again, Masen," Jacob warned forcefully.

"No, Jake, don't!" Bella begged. "Don't call my dad-" She reached out and grabbed his large hand in hers. The gesture seemed to soften him a little. He looked down at his hand and then up at Bella's pleading expression.

"I won't," he said finally. "But really Bella, you need to stop this. Be fair, for once."

"Jake," she said sadly, "I told you how I felt, you know why-"

"I'm not talking about me, Bells!" He barked, taking his hand back, "I'm talking about _him! _Be fair with _him!_"

Bella's eyes looked fearful, like a deer in the headlights, as Jacob walked away into the dark.

"Bella? What is he talking about?" I asked finally. "Please, you have to tell me!"

Her face was gray with anger and sadness, until finally she said, "Jacob Black is in love with me."

Jealousy that I had expected, but was surprising anyway, rose up inside me and I wished that the boy was still here so I could have someone other than Bella to react against.

"That's it? That's what he's talking about?"

"No," she admitted, "It's a little more complicated than that. I told him I didn't love him the same way, and he accepted it, but he feels its his duty to be eternally persistent. He doesn't think I'm being fair with you."

"Well, that isn't his problem, is it?" I asked.

She finally looked up at me and smiled. "No, it's not. It's entirely my problem."

I drove her home, saying goodnight to Chief Swan before I left the house. On my way out to the car, I heard Bella's window crack open and I spun around to see her front half hanging out the window.

"Psst!" She called out, giggling as I twirled on the spot to face her. "Charlie's already asleep, want to sneak up? Talk a little longer?"

I saw the spruce in her front yard which looked very climbable, and was positioned exactly in front of her window. Without thinking twice I leaped up the branches and flung myself gracefully through the window. Bella was sitting cross legged on her bed, already in pajamas, giggling at my entrance. She patted the bed next to her and I sat down, just as she leaned in to kiss me, even more passionately than when we were down at the beach. This time I was a little more prepared.

"Whoa now," I said, pulling away. "Are you trying to seduce me?" We both grinned.

"That depends," she said, "Are you capable of being seduced?"

I shook my head firmly, "No," and she giggled again.

"I figured as much. I guess the rumors are true."

I raised my eyebrow. "What rumors?"

"That Edward Masen is the biggest prude in Forks." She laughed quietly, shielding herself with one hand, but not taking her eyes off me.

"That's not fair, I've just never met the right girl. I'm old fashioned in that way, I guess."

"Well, do you find me attractive, in that way, at all?"

I laughed lightly and ran my hand through her damp hair. "I am a man, after all. But I'm curious. Have you ever…?" I let my sentence trail off suggestively.

She shook her head furiously. "No, never. Not before now, anyway."

"Hmm," I mumbled quietly, still stroking my hand through her hair. "Well don't I feel like the special one!"

I pulled her into my lap and we talked for hours and hours, whispering so that Charlie wouldn't hear, until she finally drifted off to sleep and I descended from her window, making my way home just before dawn.

******************************************************************************************

I saw Esme sitting by herself at the small, round kitchen table when I got home. I silently snuck through the door, and crept up behind her, grabbing her shoulders so that she jumped in her chair.

"Oh! Edward!" she laughed, and I put my arms around her in a hug, kissing her cheek. "You didn't just get in, did you?"

"Yes," I said, still laughing at my joke as I sat down across the table from her.

"Oh, well, I'm glad I didn't know, or I would have died of worry…" Her face turned more serious. "Edward, were you with Bella all night?" she asked sternly.

I nodded, trying to avoid her concerned gaze.

"Edward! She's the police chief's daughter, be careful-"

"Mom!" I interrupted her, "I know, okay? I know this is different, but I haven't changed. Same Edward."

Esme gave me a knowing look. "I think we both know you have changed. I found this in the laundry-" she pulled a folded piece of paper out of her jacket pocket, one that I recognized immediately.

"Oh no, please tell me you didn't read that-"

Esme cleared her throat, cutting me off, and began reading from the piece of paper. "Plans: Do something good everyday. Get a summer job. Graduate. Marry Bella. Go to college. Get into medical school." She stopped reading and looked at me. "These are all wonderful plans, but they will take a lot of work-"

"I can do that," I said firmly, resolved.

"Do you love her?" Esme asked simply.

"Yes, I do. More than anything in the world." I could not have been more serious, or honest in that moment.

Esme just smiled at me, full of a mother's happiness. "Good."

* * *

**Questions, Comments, Love it or Hate it... Review it!!!!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Ok, I won't be posting the rest of the story today like I thought (SORRY!) but I think I have the rest of my chapters lined up well enough that I'll be able to post during my insane festival weekend (for those of you who don't know yet, I'm going to be participating in a GINORMOUS music festival that lasts the whole weekend, and I'm in three different ensembles, which is a lot of work. I'm kindof a big deal... lol, jk, but this is a really important weekend for me, so wish me luck!). Unless I get too many reviews absolutely begging me to post more today, I'm going to take my single free night this weekend relaxing in preparation for my big day tomorrow. SORRY, but mental health is very important to me :)**

**Anywho, this is a pretty dramatic chapter, enjoy!**

**P.S. Sorry it's on the shortish side...**

Chapter 8

For the next few weeks I spent as much time with Bella as I could. Junior year was winding down, and the word on everybody's lip was college. Rosalie and Emmett were both very vocal about their plans to go to Dartmouth together, while Alice and Jasper were looking at Cornell. I didn't know where I was going to apply, but I knew I wanted to go wherever Bella was. She had brought me back to life, given me purpose.

One night, Bella and I were walking down the main street of town, waving to Rosalie, Alice, and Emmett as we passed them in the town diner. Bella had been suspiciously quiet whenever someone mentioned college, and I decided that now was the time to bring it up.

"So," I began casually. "You thought about your college applications yet? Know where you're applying?"

Se seemed hesitant to answer, like she often was when I talked about the future. At times like this, when I had no idea what she could be thinking, I wondered if her mind was wandering to Jacob Black, the boy who still fought for her attention, but wasn't hand in hand with her now. Something told me that this time, especially, that was exactly where her thoughts dwelled. Finally, she said, "No. I'm not applying to college."

"What?" I asked, astonished. "Not at all? Are you planning on joining the peace corps or something? Oh! Or move to Jacksonville with your mom?"

"No," she said sadly, "I'm not going anywhere." She was quiet for some time, and the frustration was killing me.

"You have to tell me what you're thinking," I said finally, after several minutes of silence.

She stared at her feet, but then met me with her tearful, brown eyes. "You remember that night at La Push? When Jacob said I wasn't being fair?"

"Yeah," I said, glad and terrified that I had been right in thinking Jacob was somehow involved in this.

"Well, he was right. I haven't been telling you everything."

"Oh no," I said suddenly. "You're in love with him too, is that it?"

"No! Not at all," she assured me, grabbing both my hands in hers while the fear settled down. "No, it's something else." She paused, clearly wishing she didn't have to say what she was about to tell me. "I'm sick."

"Oh, well, then I'll take you home, you'll be better by tomorrow-"

"No, Edward, I'm not _sick_… I have leukemia."

That single, small word tore down my entire world.

"No… No! No, that's not possible! You're seventeen, you're happy and healthy, you're perfect! You have the whole world ahead of you-"

"No, Edward, no. I'm sick, and I'm dying. I found out a few months ago. Actually, I found out the day I was at the beach with Jacob, when Mike jumped off the cliff. That was the first day I broke my father's rules, because I had to tell Jacob. He was devastated, just like you. He wanted to do everything he could for me, he wanted to marry me! Give me a chance to enjoy life, but I told him no. I told him that I wanted everything to be normal, that I didn't want anyone acting weird around me-"

"Including me?" I asked sharply, my fear and misery still crashing like waves around me.

"Especially you!" She cried. "Edward, I knew you would act exactly like Jacob did! That you would try to make everything better, but you can't! I'm going to die! I've accepted it, and that's all there is to it-"

"No!" I yelled. "No it's not! We can do something-"

"No, we can't!" she screamed. "Edward, this is one thing you can't fix, and you can't make it any better than you already have. I'm sorry-" Her tears broke through and she ran off towards home, leaving me beside myself on main street.

She was wrong. There was something I could do. I would do anything to fix her.

******************************************************************************************

I was in my Volvo, driving faster than ever towards the one place I swore I would never go again. The familiar dirt road flew underneath my tires until I saw the big, white house by the river. I got out and ran to the front door, banging on it with my fist frantically, yelling for someone to answer.

"Dad! Carlisle! Come on, answer the door!"

He did answer, the first time I called, and I nearly fell backwards from shock. "Edward?" He said quickly, "What is it? What's wrong? Is Esme alright?"

"No, dad, Esme's fine, it's- it's my girlfriend, Bella… She- She's got cancer."

Carlisle's golden eyes widened at the evil word. His pale skin glowed in the faint moonlight, his white-blond hair sleeked back. He was wearing an expensive-looking smooth, cashmere sweater, and his expression was grim. I barely recognized my father from the few years that I knew him when I was young, he had changed so drastically since he left us, but now wasn't the time to marvel at Carlisle's technically good physique.

"Cancer?" he said gravely.

"Yeah, so I need you to come and see her right now-" I was breathless and panicked as I explained the situation. "I need you to come and see her, and make everything better- You have to fix her!"

"Edward," he said calmly, "You need to calm down! Now, I will gladly look at her case, but what makes you think there's anything I will be able to do-"

I groaned in frustration. "You know what, forget it. Just forget it! I knew it-" I looked at my father with disgust that I especially saved for the man who had always let me down epically, and ran back to my car, driving away as fast as possible, ignoring him as he called after me.

"Edward! Edward, wait! Wait…"

******************************************************************************************

The drive home gave me a lot of time to think. I thought about Bella, mainly, and how much I loved her, but I also thought about other things.

I thought about how Carlisle had left us, for reasons unknown, and Esme was still so devotedly in love with him, and he supposedly with her. They had never gotten a divorce, and their distant marriage still bound them together somehow. That seemed pretty profound to me.

I thought about Jacob Black, who offered to give Bella a good life in the few years she had left of it. It wasn't something she could have accepted, because it would have left both of them heartbroken. Her, because she wouldn't be truly happy, and him because he would still lose her.

I thought about my friends who were so foolishly in love, but still so devoted to each other. They had futures ahead of them, and Bella did too, only marginally smaller than theirs.

I thought of something I could do that no one else could, one way I could make her happy in her final years. Or at the very least, it would make me happy, in my selfish existence. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Bella, till her death forced us to part. Because I had already learned that love would carry on through disasters and dilemmas, perhaps love would survive death as well?

I found myself at the top of the cliffs at La Push that morning, where it all started. I watched the early morning sun put the dark ocean into shadow. The waves pulsed against the rocks like a heart beat, reminding me that Bella's heart beats were numbered.

I barely noticed when Emmett's Jeep pulled up behind me, and he hopped out, walking slowly to stand by me and watch the waves silently by my left shoulder.

"Hey," he said quietly. "Esme told me you were out. Carlisle called and told her what happened. I've been looking all over for you. Talk to me, man."

"About what?" I said sullenly.

"About you… about Bella," he prompted stolidly.

"What's there to talk about? She's just the best person I've ever known." I stared out towards the horizon, searching for something, anything…

"I didn't understand before," he said finally, remembering the day he said Bella had changed me. It had been for the better.

I turned and looked him in the eye, sensing the ultimate sympathy that only a true friend could give. "It's okay, man. It's okay." We did our secret handshake in almost slow motion, then got back into the cars and drove home.

******************************************************************************************

That week I stayed away from Bella, fearful that she would be angry with me, and by Wednesday afternoon, everyone in town knew about her. There were stacks of flowers and get well cards on the Swan's front step everyday. Thursday afternoon, I added my own bouquet of flowers - her favorites, freesia and lilac - to the bunch, along with a note that said _I'm here when you're ready to talk again_.

On my way back to the street, I saw Chief Swan talking to Sue Clearwater. As soon as he saw me, however, he said goodbye to Sue and made his way over to my Volvo.

"Edward," he began in his best fatherly tone, but I cut him off.

"Please, Chief Swan, just tell Bella that I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere. Will you tell her that?"

Charlie looked slightly astonished, but he nodded and gave me a comforting pat on the back.

Later that day, I was in my garage, doing some more work on the Volvo, when Bella appeared out of no where. She was timid, taking small steps toward me. I closed the distance between us in one bound, taking her in my arms, leaning her head against my chest under my chin as I rubbed her back in small circles.

"I'm so sorry," she mumbled. "Jacob was right, I should have told you sooner-"

"No," I said, "I shouldn't have made you do so many things, kept you out so late… I was hurting you all along-"

"No," she said firmly. "If anything, you kept me healthy longer. I've never been happier than when I'm with you, Edward Masen. I love you."

I couldn't look at her impossibly beautiful face, so I stared at the ground. "Are you scared?"

She smiled deviously. "To death."

Ouch, that one got me. My brows furrowed and I pinched the bridge of my nose as she giggled.

"Come on, lighten up!" she laughed.

"It's not funny," I said stubbornly. I pulled her into my embrace once more, until I felt her tears dampening my t-shirt. She looked up at me with her wet, chocolate brown eyes.

"I'm scared of not being with you," she admitted.

"Oh, Baby, that's never going to happen. As long as it makes you happy, I'll be here. Where else am I going to go?"

I held her to me as close as humanly possible, and kissed the top of her head, all the while repeatedly saying "I love you, I love you."

* * *

**For those of you who are fans of the quotes I throw in, I'm proud to say that I put quotes from both movies and the book in Edward's last line. BOOYAH!**

**Questions, Comments, Love it or Hate it...**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Okay, this chapter is a lot shorter than most, but that's because I figured out that I want to add something before the next chapter, so I can't post anymore than what we have here. SORRY!!!! I think the story will be a lot better with what I have planned though, so hopefully it'll be worth the wait. I've also got one more uber stressful day at my music festival (In case any of your are wondering, not that I think anyone is curious about my life, but the two choirs I'm in performed today and both got silver medals! Yay!), so I don't know exactly WHEN I'll be posting next... It would all be so much easier if I didn't have a huge term paper due on Monday as well, grrr... but hey, what are you gonna do?**

**SO, moral of the story is, patience is a virtue and I think my head's going to explode soon if I don't take some serious chill time. Watching episodes of Moonlight on Youtube! (check out my profile for more on that...).**

**OH! and a lot of you commented on the last emotionally charged chapter, and I just wanted to say THANK YOU to all of you, and I'm really sorry to those of you who I made cry! (oops...)**

Chapter 9

Summer was upon us, and Bella and I did everything she wanted to do. I stayed up talking with her every night (unbeknownst to Charlie). I took her to the beach at La Push when the weather was nice. We watched Romeo and Juliet four times. Alice and Rosalie made me let them take Bella shopping at least twice. She even convinced me to let her ride her motorbike with Jacob once, although I made sure she took the proper safety precautions first.

One day, while Bella was resting, I was working on the engine of her ridiculous red pickup truck that she loved so much. I took a break when I noticed Emmett's Jeep pull up to the curb outside the Swan's, and Jasper jumped out while Emmett when to park on the other side of the street.

Jasper walked up to me slowly and carefully. We still hadn't talked since the incident with James, but something told me that was about to change.

"Hey," he said casually, careful not to make eye-contact. "Emmett told me what was going on, and…" I waited for him to apologize, or to offer some kind of comfort, but instead what I got was, "So, do you want help with that?"

Coming from Jasper, this was huge.

"Yeah," I grinned. "Get over here."

Minutes later, the three of us were working on the monstrosity of motor vehicle that Bella insisted on driving. Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper had pitched in to buy it a new stereo that actually worked, in comparison to the one Bella already had that received exactly two stations. We had just finished testing it when Chief Swan ran out of the house looking terrified.

"Edward! Emmett- help! Bella collapsed, I need your help! We need to get her to the hospital!

My heart stopped beating. Emmett and Jasper were already on the move. They got upstairs to Bella's room before either the chief or I, and got Bella onto the bed, but I demanded they let me carry her downstairs, and we drove her to the hospital in the chief's police car, sirens on.

I couldn't take my eyes off of Bella's pale face. She looked so helpless, so hurt, and it felt like a knife was driven into my chest with every staggered breath she took.

When we arrived at the emergency room, the nurses had to practically rip her out of my arms as they raced her away to get help. I paced the waiting room with Charlie for an hour before they told us we could see her.

She was still unconscious, attached to all sorts of machines, still looking pale. I took my seat beside her bed and refused to move.

Bella's mom, Rene, arrived a few hours after the accident. She rushed in, fear all across her face, and collapsed next to her daughter's bed.

"Oh my God, Bella! My Bella," she moaned, rubbing her daughter's hand with her own, tears smeared on her face.

A familiar doctor came into the room. "You must be Bella's mother," he said while checking her vitals. "You shouldn't worry, Bella will be fine in a few hours. Well, as fine as she can be…" His voice trailed off, considering her obvious condition.

"I knew I should have brought her to Jacksonville," Rene murmured to herself. "All this rain can't be good for her, and there's an excellent cancer center right in the city…" her voice faded off as she gazed as her daughter's weak face.

I cleared my throat and she seemed to notice me for the first time.

"Oh! You must be…"

"Edward," I said, extending a hand of greeting. "Edward Masen. I'm Bella's boyfriend."

Her eyes seemed to glow when I introduced myself. "Of course, Bella told me about you. She never _stops _talking about you, really," she laughed. She looked back at her daughter, so peaceful in sleep.

Rene turned out to be quite the chatter box. I didn't blame the chief for spending most of his time in the cafeteria. I was determined not to leave Bella's side, but I did feign sleep once or twice to avoid talking to Rene much longer. I had things to think about anyhow.

Finally, Bella woke up. I was in the process of a "two hour nap," and didn't want to risk getting told off by her mother in front of her, so I continued to lay still, with my eyes closed in the corner of the room while Bella's mom had her moment with her daughter.

"Hey sweetie," she said softly as Bella started moving. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," I heard Bella mumble. "Where's Edward?" she asked.

"He's sleeping," Rene answered, and I assumed they were both looking at me, slumped on a cot in the corner of the room. "He never leaves."

"What happened?" Bella asked in her confusion.

"You don't remember? You collapsed at Charlie's house. Edward and his friends brought you here. You've been sleeping for two days."

"Charlie," Bella murmured. "Where's Charlie?"

"He's in the cafeteria, would you like me to go get him?"

"Yes," Bella answered. "He must be worried."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry, honey. Everything is going to be better now. You're going to come to Jacksonville with me and Phil, and there's a great center that can help you in the city-"

"What?" Bella said suddenly, fear and shock in her voice. "Mom, I want to stay in Forks, I'm not leaving!"

"But sweetie," Rene said with much concern. "It's what's best for you-"

"Can you just get Charlie, Mom? Please?" Bella was irritated now, and Rene clearly didn't want to upset her after she just woke up, so she quietly agreed and left. As soon as the door closed, I was up and at Bella's side.

"Hey," I said softly. "How are you?"

She smiled at me and the room started spinning. "So much better, now that you're here."

"I'm always here," I chuckled, leaning down to kiss her. Her heart monitor sped up with her excitement and I had to pull away.

"I was not finished kissing you," she complained. I just grinned, but then my face turned somber.

"Bella, you have to move to Jacksonville. They have a really good cancer center there, you could get better-"

"No, Edward," she said sternly. "I'm not leaving."

"But if it's what's best for you-"

"Edward," she said, persuading me to listen, "I'm going to die. Maybe not today… but I'm going to die sometime. Every minute of the day, I get closer. I can't help that. I just want to spend every day I have left with you. You _are _my life." She was almost begging, and I knew I didn't have the strength to tell her goodbye. I entwined my hand in hers, and leant against the bed, while she ran her other hand through my hair.

After a little while I sat back up. "I think Charlie's coming back."

"Don't leave me," she whispered, her eyes wide and pleading.

"I won't," I assured her. "I'll take another _nap_." I smiled what I now knew was her favorite crooked smile and feigned sleep on the cot again.

Chief Swan entered the room and rushed to Bella's side. "Bells, how are you-"

"I'm fine," Bella chuckled. The chief did not join her.

"Bells, I talked to your mother. I really think you should consider going to Jacksonville-"

"Dad!" she cried, astonished. "How can you say that? Do you want me to go away?"

"N-no," Charlie mumbled, abashed. "I just thought-"

"I don't want to leave," Bella said forcefully. "I thought we agreed that I could live my life the way I wanted to? I want to stay. I want to stay here with you."

I heard the Chief muffle a sob and sit down beside her. "Bells… Bella. I love you so much, you know that, right? If I've ever kept you too close, it's only because I've wanted to keep you longer."

"Of course, Dad. I know, I love you too."

******************************************************************************************

Rene and Charlie eventually forced me to leave. Apparently I was starting to smell, after four days in the hospital without changing. Emmett drove me home, since I was too worried to concentrate on anything, and Esme made sure I showered and changed. I sat on the porch, staring into the woods, waiting until I was allowed to go back to the hospital, back to my Bella.

I heard a car in the gravel driveway, and saw Rosalie and Alice hop out of Rosalie's convertible. They both had somber, concerned faces, and Rosalie was even crying.

"Hello, Edward," Alice said softly, handing me a thick envelope she had in her hands. I looked at it questioningly. "It's pictures from the play," Alice provided.

"Thanks," I said meekly, not willful enough to open them.

Rosalie was still crying, trying so hard not to let her voice tremble. "I- I'm so sorry, Edward. For everything."

"Oh, Rose!" I said, standing up to give her a comforting hug. "It's alright, shhh, it's okay. Everything will be okay…"

Now Alice was crying too. "How can it, Edward? She's our friend too! I don't see any way this could end-" her sentence broke off with a sob, and she joined in on Rose's and my hug. We all stood there for so long, crying till our eyes were dry and we could only produce dry sobs.

"She's perfect for you, Edward," Rosalie said quietly, while we all sat on the porch swing. "It's like she chose you."

"Yeah," I laughed half-heartedly, "And I don't even know why."

Rosalie looked at me with her deep blue eyes. "I do." She pecked me on the cheek and stood up to leave. Alice stood up as well, but continued looking at me, like she could see something in my future that I hadn't told her, something I hadn't told anyone. The sparkle in her hazel eyes confirmed that she did know. The two girls drove away, waving, and I headed into the house to ask Esme something very important.

* * *

**Heeheehee, mini cliff hanger! I'll try my darned hardest to post another chapter tomorrow, and if not, there will be TWO on Monday! Wish me luck on day 2 of crazymusicfestival!**

**Love it or Hate it, REVIEW IT!**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Yay! I added in my extra bit, and I'm not telling you what it is cause someone will probably burst my bubble and tell me it wasn't really necessary afterall, so my lips are sealed. I have a few original scenes in here, so forgive me if they seem a little odd. It's early and wrote this in like half an hour...**

**Oh yeah, and I wanted to say I somewhat overuse the Jane Austen books and Wuthering Heights in my chapters, but whenever I picture Bella, I see her reading, and I can't really think of any other books she would be reading.**

**Done appologizing/ranting. Read on.**

Chapter 10

I sat next to Bella's bedside every day for the rest of the week, while she slowly got better and better. The doctor was right; she would be fine, or as fine as she could be. We just had to take our time.

I was reading to her from her favorite book, _Wuthering Heights_, one day, when she tugged at my hand.

"You know what I just realized?" She asked, her brown eyes alight with excitement.

"What?" I asked, unable to control the grin that spread across my face.

"Maybe God has a bigger plan for me than I had for myself," she said pensively. "Like, maybe you were sent to me _because _I'm sick." Her smile told me there was something more, so I waited to hear the rest. "You're my angel," she said, as her whole face lit up in a brilliant grin.

I didn't need to tell her that she had it backwards. She was _my _angel. This was the moment I had been waiting for.

"Bella," I whispered, afraid my voice would give away my excitement. "Do you love me?" She stared at me, not needing to say yes. "Then, will you do something for me?"

She smiled. "Anything."

"Will you marry me?"

She stared at me, then said, "Okay. What's the punch line?"

I sighed. "Bella, you're wounding my ego. I just proposed to you and you think it's a joke."

"Edward, please be serious!"

"I am one hundred percent serious." There wasn't a trace of humor in my face.

"Oh, c'mon… I'm not even eighteen!" she said almost hysterically.

"You said anything!"

"I'm sorry, I should have been more specific." She stared at me plainly, forcing me to pull out all the stops and dazzle her.

"Bella, I love you, and I want to be able to say you're mine. Is it so selfish for me to want to spend every last minute of your life with you and only you?"

"No! I am yours, always and forever! But marriage…" she trailed off almost in disgust at the idea.

I leaned forward, locking my green eyes on hers. "_Please_, Bella?" I breathed. "I love you, as long as we both shall live, and I want to keep you for all eternity. Could you tell me _why _you don't want to be my wife?"

Her cheeks turned red as she contemplated my question. "You'll laugh," she whispered.

"No I will not," I assured her, then held my breath for the answer.

"Fine! Well, it's just so… _embarrassing!_ I mean, I'm just not _that girl, _the kind who gets married right out of high school. I wouldn't marry Jacob either, don't feel like it's just you."

"You don't love Jacob like you love me," I pointed out.

"That's true…" she murmured, her gaze lost in thought. "But what would Rene say? Or Charlie?"

I frowned. This definitely wasn't going the way I planned. "I don't care what _they _think, I care what _you _think, Bella! Can't you _try _to see my point of view? You're the only girl who will ever make me feel this way, and I'm serious about spending the rest of our lives together!"

I begged, and I pleaded, but she was still shaking her head no. "I love you Edward, more than anything, but I'm not getting married." She turned back to the book she was reading, ignoring the pain on my face.

So perhaps Jacob Black and I weren't so different after all.

******************************************************************************************

Three days later, I walked into the hospital bright and early to meet Bella once again, but stopped suddenly when I got to her door.

Through the glass window on the heavy hospital door, I could see Jacob Black lounging on the end of Bella's bed, Bella's face lit up with happiness. She was laughing, as was he, about something I couldn't hear from my side of the door. Immediately my mind started thinking defensively. When did he arrive, how long had they been together, how could I get Bella back for myself without startling her, would I have an excuse to punch him before he left…

But one thing stopped me from any sudden reactions, and that was Bella's brilliant smile. She really was happy with him. Maybe that was the reason she wouldn't marry me…

Bella saw me through the glass window and her expression changed infinitesimally. She said something of caution, I assumed, to Jacob and then waved me in.

I entered the room on guard, immediately aware of the husky laugh coming from the young native American boy perched closer to my girlfriend than was to my liking.

"Good Morning," Bella said cheerfully, her brown eyes smiling as much as her mouth was when she saw me.

Jacob coughed. "Uh, morning, Masen…" he said quietly, avoiding my instinctive glare.

"Morning to both of you," I said carefully. "What have you been up to, so early?"

"Oh, Jacob just came over for breakfast. I hadn't seen him in a while, so he stuck out of La Push for a day."

"That's… nice," I commented awkwardly.

Bella's eyes were moving apprehensively between Jacob and I, as if she could feel the tension like fog in the room.

Jacob coughed again, clearly nervous. "Actually, Masen, I was kind of hoping we could talk about something…" He looked at me for the first time, and I saw that his eyes were full several emotions that I had been feeling myself: Anger, jealousy, and hurt. This was one conversation I was not going to miss.

We stepped out into the hallway, and Jacob began walking towards the cafeteria, so I followed him.

"Alright," I said without any finesse. "What's the deal? What do you want to talk about?"

"Bella, of course," Jacob said as he pulled out a tray and started through the cafeteria line, grabbing more food than I would eat in a whole day, rather than just one meal. How he kept him purely muscular figure was beyond me. "I heard that you asked her a very important question the other day."

"What? Who told you?" I asked, shocked.

"Calm down, Charlie told me. He heard it from Bella. He's rooting for you, you know."

"Wait, I don't understand," I said shaking my head, "Why are we talking about this?"

Jacob sat down at one of the cafeteria tables and sighed. "Because… I want to help you convince her to say yes."

My draw dropped open in shock. "W-wha-what-"

"Yeah, I known, it's a little unprecedented," Jacob said with enough incredulity, it seemed like even he couldn't believe those words had come out of his own mouth.

"Why?" I asked suspiciously after a minute of strange silence between us.

Jacob groaned. "You know, sometimes I don't even know, because really all I want to do is tear your arm out of its socket, but when I look at Bella, it seems like its something I have to do. I love her, you know? I mean, I would have done everything you're doing to make her happy, but she wouldn't have it. She never felt that way about me, I know it."

"You're not the right one for her," I said a little selfishly.

"Really?" Jacob barked. "How so? What makes you the right one? What can you do for her that I can't?"

I looked at him will all sense of seriousness and answered, "I will love her until the day I die. She is the love of my life, one that no one will ever replace, and after she's gone from this earth she will forever exist in my heart. Now, you can't promise me or her that you could love like that. Someday you'll find your own match, the right person for you alone, and you'll understand."

He let out a stream of low breath, staring at the table. "Wow… I guess that is something."

"So, you said you were going to help me?" I asked tentatively after another minute.

He grinned. "Actually, I already have. This morning, I told her I was dropping out of the race. I can deal with cloud cover, but I've been eclipsed, and I'm man enough to admit it."

"Okay, but how is that going to help me? She could still say no."

Jacob looked at me, sizing me up. "I think you'll figure something out. In fact, I'm sure you will."

******************************************************************************************

I walked back to Bella's room, contemplating everything Jacob had told me, and thinking about how much I loved Bella. My thoughts seemed scattered walking down the hall, but as soon as I saw her face, there was only clarity. I didn't say a word, I just kissed her and sat down beside the bed.

"Jacob and I talked," I said quietly, mentally slapping myself over the head for stating the obvious.

"I figured," Bella grinned. "And your conclusion is?"

I laughed. "He's a more decent guy than I'd like to admit. And he smells like a dog."

Bella laughed along with me. "Brutally honest, as always."

I decided to take a more serious approach. "But he did tell me what he told you, before."

Bella flinched appropriately. "Whoa now, that doesn't change anything! This doesn't mean I'm saying yes-"

"I know that! Trust me, I know. But, I really just wanted to point something out. I know you don't think you're "that girl" who gets married at eighteen, but really, what about our relationship _has _been conventional? I know you're mature beyond your years, and we may not have many years left. I just want to spend all those years with you. I love you more than I love myself, and I will love you until the last of my breaths passes through my lips. I _can't _live without you."

Bella looked like a deer in the headlights. "But what about Jacob-"

"He wants to be your best man," I laughed. "He wants this for you too."

Bella glared at me. "My parents-"

I grinned. "I talked to them both, they're very supportive."

She gasped, clearly not expecting this. That's when I pulled out the ring.

It was my mother's ring, the one Carlisle gave her when they got engaged. It was old fashioned, the face a wide oval, set with rows of glittering round stones, a gold band, delicate and narrow, that snaked its way around the diamonds. Her eyes grew wide, and glimmered with what I hoped were tears of joy.

"It's so _pretty_," she whispered, unthinkingly reaching out to stroke the gems.

"Do you like it?"

"It's beautiful," she said, looking up into my eyes that were searching for hers.

I took a deep breathe, and got down on one knee, ready to ask the question, and to do it right. "Isabella Swan, I promise to love you forever, every single day. Will you marry me?" I looked into her chocolate brown eyes, seeing the fear, but also some new resolve. "Be nice," I muttered.

She just gazed at me and whispered, "Yes."

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To my surprise, when I announced our engagement my friends, Alice was _not _surprised, not the least bit. In fact, she had already started putting in orders for what she deemed necessary for a wedding.

"You _what?_" Were the first words that came out of my mouth when she told me what she had already done.

"I set a date at the church where your parents got married! Honestly Edward, there's like a three month wait list, at least, and considering how much time you guys have… just don't act so offended, I'm doing you a favor!"

I was still stunned. "Alice, how could you possibly have _known_-"

"Please, Edward!" she scoffed. "I _know _you, you are totally _that boy_, the one who finds his true love and gets down on one knee the first chance he gets. And let's face it, Bella's the one. For you, I mean. Which makes it such a shame…" she trailed off, but within seconds her perky mood had returned. "Well, now's not the time to dwell on unhappy things! We have plans to make!" She pulled a large binder out of no where that appeared to be filled with wedding plans that I had never even imagined her capable of amassing.

"Alice! Aren't you forgetting something?" I asked pointedly.

"No!" she laughed. "What on Earth could I be forgetting? Have you _seen _what's in this binder? Trust me, Edward, I have everything covered."

"I was referring to asking Bella for permission, of course," I said plainly.

"Oh, c'mon! She will be thanking me by the time this is over!" Alice laughed. "Do I really have to ask _permission_?"

Rather than answering her, I simply pointed to Bella's hospital door. Alice tried to soften me with her pleading hazel eyes, but I didn't budge. Finally, with a huff, she entered Bella's room, smile at the ready.

Ten minutes later, Alice returned, looking smug, and holding her precious binder close to her chest.

"It's all taken care of," she said smartly. "You do not need to worry about a thing, Edward Masen, I have this whole wedding under control. You will thank me for years and years to come."

I tried not to seem to happy as she walked by me and headed out of the hospital, but I was secretly pleased that I could spend all the more time with Bella.

I walked quietly into her room to see her perched happily in her bed, reading one of her Jane Austen novels.

"Which one is it this time?" I asked.

She grinned when she looked up at me. "Sense and Sensibility. My favorite character is in it, after all."

"Hmm… Mr. Ferras, was it?" I asked, trying to remember the hero's name.

"_Edward _Ferras, to be exact."

"So," I said, bringing up the subject that was on my mind. "_How _did Alice convince you? I thought for sure you would want the Vegas/drive through wedding."

She closed her book and set it in her lap, looking pensive. "Well, first she pointed out that it would make my family very happy, and you too-"

"What makes me happy is for _you _to be happy. I would get married in sweatpants if it was what you wanted."

She laughed but continued. "I know that, but then she showed me a picture of my dress-"

"What? She already had one picked out? I don't know how she plans these things…"

Bella and I sat together quietly for a minute when I finally said, "So this _is _what you want? You're not just trying to make Alice happy?"

Bella smiled so wide I could see all her teeth and her eyes looked like they were grinning as well. "This is _exactly _what I want. I couldn't ask for more."

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**Next up, the wedding! Yay! Now, I really think there's only two chapters left, so get your reviews in while you can!**

**Love it or Hate it....**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Okay, so here's the deal. First, I'M SORRY, I didn't update for like a week, that's unforgivable, I know. But the reason why is kindof important. I don't like my ending. Like, at all. I wrote it in a rush, and I was on some kind of "Happy-Ending High," and it's just one hundred percent fluff. I'm scared to proof read it because I'm afraid I'll chicken out and not post in and you guys will hate me even more. So I'm just gonna through it out there into cyber space and hope know one kills me. I know it sucks, if you agree, don't bother telling me, I already know. I might go back someday and rewrite it, but I'm too busy to do it right now, plus I'm not really in the right state up mind. I feel like I was relationship with my story, and I broke up with it, and I'm not even at the point where we can be friends!**

**Yeah, it's that bad, I know.**

**So anyway, I'm sorry, and I hope no one makes a voodoo doll of me because they hate the ending so much. PLEASE BE FORGIVING!**

Chapter 11

A month later, it was our wedding day. Bella and I both took extra summer courses from Forks high school so that we received our diplomas early. We had a September wedding. Bella had been gradually getting better, but we both knew her time was limited. She couldn't walk much, just a few steps at a time, and I spent every waking minute with her.

Alice planned the most beautiful late summer wedding the town had ever seen. We were married in the church where my parents said their vows, just as Alice promised. Beautiful white lilies were everywhere. Emmett was my best man, and Alice, Rosalie, and Angela were Bella's bridesmaids. Even Jacob Black attended, taking his seat next to Jasper. He wasn't happy with the way things turned out, but in the end he just wanted Bella to be happy, like I did. Charlie walked Bella down the aisle, slowly, every step taken with great care. She looked shaky on her way to the alter, and I wanted to reach out and catch her, but once she stood across from me, she stood firmly.

Her dress was beautiful, enough to make her agree to an old fashioned wedding like Alice had promised. It was simple, floor-length, and well-fitting, with lace sleeves and collar, no train. Alice and Rosalie had done her hair so that it perfectly bordered her heart-shaped face. She looked like an angel as she walked down that aisle.

Bella's mom was crying in the front row next to Esme. Charlie read us our vows. All the while, Bella and I just stared into each other's eyes, whispering "I love you," until we were declared man and wife.

At the end of the ceremony, we all went to the wonderful reception party Alice had planned. We walked out of the church at twilight, just as the sun was setting.

That was when, while everyone was racing towards the tent pavilion to dance and to eat, while Bella and I were too happy to see anyone but each other, my father appeared.

I hadn't seen Carlisle all summer, but had heard from my mother that he would come to the wedding as soon as he could. We had forgiven one another, as much as we could, but now that I set eyes on him for the first time since the night I begged him for help, something about him seemed eerie, and out of place.

"Congratulations Edward, Bella," he said, nodding his head toward both of us. He was standing in the shade, watching the sun setting behind the tree line. "I'm so happy for both of you."

"It's wonderful to meet you, Carlisle," Bella said, immediately registering that he was my absent father.

"Dad," I mumbled emotionally. "I'm so happy you're here." I pulled him into a hug, something I hadn't done since I was seven years old.

He didn't react well to my contact, standing firmly still, and not breathing. And he was very cold, despite the summer heat.

"Dad…" I said cautiously, pulling away and _really _looking at my father for the first time since I was a child.

I had never before noticed the change. Or rather, lack thereof. In ten years, Carlisle had not aged a day. His skin was terribly pale, paler than even Bella. His eyes were golden, when they used to be blue…

"Yes, Edward," he said solemnly, nodding. "I've never been able to tell you before, but now you need to know, especially now. What I'm about to tell you can _save _Bella. I'm going to tell you why I had to leave you ten years ago."

******************************************************************************************

He sat us down on a bench in the grove next to the church, and told us his story.

"I love your mother with all my heart, and I always will. Esme is my light in the darkness that has consumed my life; I would say she's the only reason I continue on, but that's not entirely true. The reason _we, _both of us, continue our lives as they are is because of you, Edward.

"When you were seven years old, I went to Seattle to help out on a strange case at the hospital. It turned out, that case was stranger than any of us anticipated. There was a boy, stuck in a fit of pain that we had never seen before. He screamed for three days straight about a fire in his entire body, and there was nothing we could do to help him. No medications helped him. The only wound we could find was a moon-shaped gash in his neck, right near the artery in the neck. We had to lock him in a room with bulletproof walls, he was thrashing so violently. For three days he screamed, and we were forced to observe it. However, while the pain raged on, we also saw him changing before our eyes.

"His entire being was changing. His skin turned pale, his features changed shaped, even his eye color was different. They went from light hazel to blood red.

"We had no answers whatsoever. We just waited the three days, when all of a sudden his heart accelerated to an impossible degree, and it suddenly stopped.

"Except he wasn't dead. He sat us, and looked at all of us standing around him with those blood red eyes. Before any of us knew what was happening, he was leaping across the room like a mountain lion, and sinking a set of razor sharp teeth into one of my colleagues. I was bitten, here on my shoulder-"

He lifted his shirt collar to show us a pale white scar, barely visible, on his shoulder. It exactly resembled a bite mark.

"- But I wasn't killed. I stumbled out of the room, watching the animal attack every last one of the men in their and drink their blood. I knew what he had become. I knew legends from my childhood well enough to recognize the monster in front of me.

"I hid myself from all humanity while I suffered in silence for three days. The pain was excruciating, but I couldn't alert anyone of my presence.

"Finally, it was over. I was no longer the young doctor from before, but rather a new creature entirely. I was a vampire."

I stared at my father in complete disbelief. My mind kept screaming logic at me, _This. Isn't. Possible! _But deep down, I knew it was the truth. I could see it in Carlisle's golden eyes.

He continued his story.

"I would have become a monster, just like the boy who infected me, if it wasn't for one solid memory etched in my mind throughout my entire transformation, and that was my memory of you and your mother, Edward, waving goodbye to me before I left Forks.

"I ran into the woods, faster than I had ever run in my life, all the way to the wilderness of Canada, as far as I could go before hitting the ocean. I made my way through Alaska where I met a bunch of others like me; Vampires, three women. They lived there, in the woods. They explained to me the rules of our lifestyle, but they also explained to me something specific to the way _they _lived.

"You see, I had been terrified of what I had become. The concept of drinking human blood repulsed me to no end, to the point where I was ready to find whatever way possible to kill myself so that I would never come to that necessity. But Tanya, and the rest of the Denali coven, they survived a different way, off the blood of animals.

"Since then, I have followed their example. I've never tasted human blood, and over the years, I've gained far more control than most of my kind, around humans, I mean-"

"Stop!" Bella yelled breathlessly. Her face had gone pale with fear, and I automatically bent over her protectively.

"Carlisle, I think you should slow down, she can't be taking this all well," I said apprehensively.

"No, Edward, that's not it!" She exclaimed, clinging to me, searching for my eyes. When they found each other, I realized what her exclamation had been about.

"You said you could save her…" I murmured, like the light bulb had gone on over my head.

"Yes," Carlisle agreed. "I could, if you wanted me to. You see, we live for all eternity, and we never age. Vampire venom will save you, no matter what state you're in. As long as there is a beating heart, you can be saved from the very brink of death. I've saved a few people through my work at the hospital. A young girl named Bree, a burn victim, was restored to complete health. A man and wife, Peter and Charlotte, who were sent straight to the morgue after a horrible car accident, are still living as a happy couple in Chicago. I've only saved those who asked for my help, who knew what they were getting into, but one thing I know for sure is that there is a chance for all of them."

"Dad," I said quietly. "Does Esme know? About…?"

Carlisle looked sadly at the ground. "Yes, she knows. I wrote her letters during the first few years, to explain where I was, why I couldn't see her. After the first five years, when I was more in control of myself, I came to see her, and explained everything in person. I would have changed her in a second, so we could be together forever, if she didn't have to raise you first. You have been her only joy all these years, I wasn't about to take you away from her. I moved back to Forks when I couldn't stand it any longer. I've learned to control my thirst for blood well enough that I can keep working in the hospital, and I tried to be a part of your life…"

I broke down crying and threw myself at my dad in a fitful hug. He returned the favor as best he could.

"I'm so sorry dad… I never gave you a chance…"

"It's alright, son. It's not your fault. I don't blame you…"

Finally, I looked at Bella, my bride, my love. She was crying as well, and looking faint from all the emotion. I gathered her in my arms and lifted her with effort, carrying her to the tent. We spent the rest of the night enjoying the party, with my father in attendance, and went on the happiest honeymoon a couple has ever known.

We had a wonderful year together, knowing more love than most know in a lifetime, when the day came that Bella's heart could no longer last on its own.

We took her to the big white house by the river, and with what seemed like a kiss on the neck, Carlisle began the process that would forever preserve my beautiful Bella. She passed through the transformation in a sleeplike trance, thanks to the morphine Carlisle gave her before hand. I joined her minutes after.

Three days later, we together began our one, eternal day. My love for Bella will last for all eternity.

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**Well, there it is. If anyone has any ideas on how I could make this better, I'd love to hear them. ACTUALLY, if anyone else wants to try writing their own ending, go for it! I'll post it as a bonus chapter or something! And if I really like it, I'll just take this one out altogether! (I'll give you credit of course). Let me know what you guys think in your reviews! Oh, and I just wanted to thank everyone who read and liked the story, it means so much to me! Thanks!**


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